Krait book 12b Lilith Goes To School
by slytherinsal
Summary: Lilith Snape is excited to be going to school two years early! There's such a lot to learn at school and not all of it lessons! Shocks and surprises in store for a lot of people this year even with ODESSA kept otherwise occupied.
1. Chapter 1

_Only 19 chapters to this one but a lot packed in…_

**Chapter 1**

The conspirators of what would largely comprise the fourth and fifth of Hogwarts in September were very pleased with their efforts of combining to get all their holiday assignments done before getting into the swing of holidays. And Gorbrin was delighted to get an owl bringing the results of the OWLs he took early – potions and transfigurations – and found he had an 'O' in both!

It had been decided that the week of hard work would culminate in the arrival of younger siblings due to start Hogwarts next term to be guests at this year's weddings launched from Malfoy Manor and stay on for what such old hands as Gorbrin and Erica called a 'weevil fest' where new weevils would meet each other and so not be total strangers on the train and in the school.

Erica and Gorbrin had both received prefects badges by owl too; and Gorbrin's package had two little tin badges in for he was also to be head of Quidditch in Slytherin House.

Mei Chang of Ravenclaw had been keen to continue the idea of playing a first and second seven to determine the House Quidditch Shield and he certainly meant to back that proposal as House Captain.

He grinned.

A substantial number of the team were actually his siblings, full or step; though the two who were coming up this year, Gennar his full brother and James, who was an adopted Malfoy cousin in actuality, were keen enough but not team material. Gennar was better at Hurley; and Gorbrin realised he had himself a high chance of being picked to be the school Hurley Captain for their first outside fixture against St Jodoc's.

He had needed to get a couple of OWLs out of the way!

The weddings of the year were Hawke Malfoy to Lynx Black-Weasley – their daughter having just turned a year old – and Senagra Konal to Romulus Snape.

The Snapes would be over in force now that Jade had birthed her baby – Gorbrin, now blood group, had helped out with her birth pangs and those of Willow Black, birthing at the same time and had been glad once again that he was born a boy – to support Romulus; and of course both Lynx and Senagra were Prowling Marauders like Jade and Fabian.

Gorbrin liked Fabian; he was practical and down to earth.

And the Snapes would also be bringing Severus' and Krait's first actual child, Lilith, to meet new weevils; she was a precocious child and the decision had been made to put her into school early to stretch her a little and keep her from boredom. Gorbrin thought Lilith more than capable of keeping up with the work; she was more than capable of holding a sensible academic conversation with even someone of his age. It could be disconcerting; but Lilith was an engaging child in between needing to have her ears boxed.

They were society weddings of course; anyone who was anyone attended, showing off their latest offspring if they had them and their best gowns and hats whether they had offspring or not, those nearer the fringes of society trying to be seen talking to anyone with a surname like Malfoy, Potter, Black, Longbottom or even Weasley; and half the people there had gatecrashed.

Madam Flyte-Johnston was one such.

She was an encroaching type for whom Narcissa had issued orders to the family elves that none of the Madams Malfoy would ever be at home, but she seemed to expect to be invited to a society wedding.

Gorbrin disliked her intensely; she was rude to his mother by simply ignoring her existence as though to 'put the jumped up goblin woman in her place'; and she behaved the same to Finn, of whom Gorbrin was very fond. He approached her.

"Madam Flyte-Johnston" he said coldly "You were NOT invited to this affair; I suggest you either leave of your own free will, or I will have you removed."

"Upon my word!" said Madam Flyte-Johnstone "VERY hoity-toity for a jumped up goblin brat!"

"Upon my word, how contumelious you are for one whose presence is not desired by my mothers or my father" said Gorbrin quietly. "Will you leave, or shall I have you dragged away? Dad laid on a couple of half-troll bouncers."

Madam Flyte-Johnstone flounced, muttered something about him being 'above himself' and took herself hastily off.

She believed the look on his face that said he would have her dragged or carried off the premises by half-troll bouncers; and the loss of face and dignity of that would be insupportable even for such a pillar of the community as she was!

She made Gorbrin shake with anger. He did not usually thrust being an adopted Malfoy down people's throats; but she made him want to drawl in his best Draco-like accents doing caddish to the extreme. And if he was above himself as the adopted son of a wonderful man like Lucius, what did that make the wife of a cauldron salesman? Had she been happy to admit the way her husband had become rich, been prepared to accept her origins she would not have been as offensive as she was, being more snobbish than the true gentry pretending a gentility she did not possess and never would if she studied for a hundred years.

There was more gentility in Eglantine Gregg, a part-goblin Madam of a high class escort house, who had worked her way up from being a floor girl in a casino; Eglantine was a very handsome woman and had exquisite manners; and the only reason she might not pass as a lady was her barely restrained east end intonations overlaid with an attempt to 'talk posh'. But Ernestine never pretended to be what she was not, though she did make claims for her girls, all 'naice refained lydies'. And Eglantine was a kind-hearted woman, not like many madams. And she was paying for the daughter of one of her 'naice refained lydies' to go to Hogwarts too, which decision had apparently been approved, supported, and contributed to by all the girls she ran, for the child was said to be rather bright. Gorbrin decided to let her be integrated by her own peer group before giving her too much attention; a fifth year was, after all, rather a scary big person to a new child of eleven.

Not that he was a scary person to a new child of not yet nine; he was well hugged by Lilith, who then salaamed and said

"Oh mighty and Lordly Prefect Person I, a humble weevil greet thy magnificence!"

Gorbrin laughed.

"And that's not going to stop me dropping an impot on you if you misbehave and I catch you at it!" he said.

"Just make it Kipling" said Lilith "Dad made me learn all of 'Modern Major General', Gilbert and Sullivan, you know, for sabotaging the Arithmancy NEWT class a little bit."

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Well, it WAS after the exams….. it was the ones that'll be taking NEWT this coming year; and Hermione had had to go off and give birth so she left them an equation; the one that the NEWT people had about the engulfing spell at the Gringott's bank."

"And you changed a term or two?"

Lilith grinned.

"Yes, I made it an equation for the flushing of Gringott's loo if you assumed an _evananesco_ spell on the end" she said.

"You are a horrid brat" said Gorbrin amicably shuddering inwardly at how frighteningly intelligent Lilith was. She certainly DID need school; if only Hogwarts could survive having her!

Another set of guests who WERE invited were the two Grant boys who had been contenders for the Triwizard and their little sisters and parents; Jade had liked Miles Grant and had been impressed that his older brother had cheered him without any signs of jealousy when the Goblet of Fire chose the younger over the older. Such decent boys were worth cultivating, though Miles had decided to take his last year at Hellibore's, simply because he felt that there was little point disrupting his NEWTs for the year in Prince Peak, as well as feeling it perhaps disloyal; though he had taken Jade up on an offer to lend him some of her own class notes to try to improve his chances in the NEWTs he was taking; and both brothers planned to spend a year or so after finishing at Hellibore's at Prince Peak, for their parents had been so impressed by the level of knowledge Jade showed, and by what small Emily and Kate were already doing that they agreed to pay for the extra learning.

Miles' loyalty to the headmaster who let him down was commendable; and Severus would not try to talk him out of it. Hellibore was an old fool but he had seen much that had made him realise his deficiencies; and Severus hoped that he might covertly start to make some changes.

Especially if the Grant boys felt like returning to his academy to teach to a higher level than they had themselves been taught.

And their parents were delighted too that the boys had a chance to mix with the cream of society; even if they found the number of goblins with the surname 'Malfoy' a little disconcerting! Emily and Kate for two did not care; the younger ones had spoken of Quidditch after the wedding, and that was both girls' ruling passion!

The weddings went splendidly; Lynx had Veronica Crouch, who was being raised by her parents, as a bridesmaid and Hawke's four little sisters. Abraxus was his twin's best man; and Myrtle kept tight hold of small Leona Pardis, who was the same age as her twins. Mary, their older sister, was too young at two to appreciate the idea of being a flower girl and was busy chasing Lucius' pure white peacocks with the intention of hugging them. As most people fled from their hissing aggression the poor creatures were lying low and Mary had to seek diversion helping her cousin Ellen Green to get well covered in mud.

Senagra had her own sister to be her bridesmaid and Lydia, Lilith and small Draxana Snape, with Jade acting as Matron of Honour to both brides, her own new son proudly carried by his father who was meeting with many of the English bloodgroup for the first time.

Erich was holding the fort in Austria, ready to call in aid if Odessa actually managed to get themselves together to try anything; though it was felt after the losses they had sustained with the last abortive strikes that this was unlikely. Erich disliked public functions in any case; and preferred to stay away, as well as not wishing any photos of himself to be shown in case the name 'Von Strang' got mentioned, since Jade was to use the name under cover in Durmstrang, using the fact that she was ahead of her chronological age to go for a final year there and see what she could find about recruiting methods; and try to get recruited.

Lilith thought her sister very brave and very noble to leave dear little Ralph Erich, even if he did still look a bit like a pickled plum. Jade and Wulf were very good at doing self contained; unlike Lydia who was having trouble peeling herself off Viktor Krumm.

Not that he seemed to mind.

Grown ups were icky.

Lilith liked the way Jade and Wulf never were icky in front of people; but then Jade was her SPECIAL sister. Jade had been there for her right from the first. And Jade was going into danger; and all Lilith could do was to feed her power through the blood link.

And that she could do and do well.

And she would also be a Marauder and be like Jade – and Lydia – and like Romulus too in his days at school, a New Marauder with Hawke and Abraxus and Kinat. Kinat was Rom's best man; the bride's brother. And that was suitable too. It was an all Marauder thing.

All that was left to do to make the wedding go with a real swing was to drop a few jinxes on the stuffier guests and watch their farts fluoresce or stealthily grow them asses' ears or turn their robes and their robes only invisible. A tricky piece of transfiguration and well worth practising; more skilled than using one of Garjala's automatic robe rollers.

It was what weddings were FOR, practising curses and jinxes after all.

Once the wedding was over Lilith sought out Venus Nightingale; the protégé of Eglantine Gregg.

"Hello" said Lilith "Are you Venus? Cousin Albertine wrote to daddy about you in case any of us were going to be up at the same time as you so we could see if we wanted to be friends."

"Yes, I'm Venus" said Venus "Miss Gregg is very kind."

Her tone was wary; a whore's child at a society wedding, she felt rather out of place, despite the presence of such other people from Obscura Alley like Kazrael gan Tokar here with her older brother and sister, and Michelle Makepeace, the half elf daughter of one of the women who ran the crèche-kindergarten. Michelle was a rather hard-faced girl, determined to use the opportunity of being sponsored to get out from under and shake poverty and the memory of slavery off her feet for good. And the other part goblin, now named Maia Pleiades, had stayed with them for a while in Madam Eglantine's protection, at which time she was known as 'ugly'; but she and others in her situation lived in the Hogwarts orphanage under the exalted protection and patronage of the Noble Black family; and whilst she was more unbending than Michelle, Venus did not feel her exactly a kindred spirit. And she did not quite see what reason this rather posh looking child should have for wanting to be friendly; even if she was some familial connection to Madam Eglantine's daughter.

Lilith smiled cheerily.

"Oh cousin Albertine's a hop out o' kin as you might say, 'cos she's indifferent to potioneering; but she said you were interested, and so one of us might like to get to know you on a mutual interest basis; 'cos it's inborn in most of the Prince line and us Snapes are Princes. And Daddy's the best potioneer ever."

"Oh. Yes, it does fascinate me" said Venus "Madam Eglantine lets me help her brew up cures and things; she says I have a light touch."

"Oh that's excellent!" said Lilith "If you want to be a pre-eminent potioneer of course you'll want to study Arithmancy; and taking an interest in Herbology's a pretty good idea, and chanting can help too. Now Tony Queach has finished his studies at Prince Peak he'll teach chanting full time at Hogwarts so we can have it as a proper class which is pretty good. And he's going to be Professor Queach and I'll have to remember that; like Uncle Sirius being Professor Black."

"I – that must be hard, being related to a professor or knowing one from outside school."

"Not so hard as if I'd stayed at Prince Peak with the headmaster being my dad, and mummy teaching and my brother and lots of people I've known forever" said Lilith.

"I guess if you got into trouble he'd have to punish you harder so you weren't called teacher's pet" said Venus shrewdly.

"EXACTLY!" said Lilith "And what's worse, because he knows me he'd be SURE to guess if it was me and what I was up to if I was being in trouble. And I plan to get into trouble; it's one of the points of going to school, so long as the work gets done too."

"I get into trouble lots" said Venus gloomily "I ask questions people don't like to think about the answers of but I never MEAN to cause trouble."

Lilith grinned.

"You too? They have some odd taboos do grownups. I've got to look out for someone else as well, for David Fraser – he's dad's ward as well as a teacher at Prince Peak – and he was at school with a girl called Lysistrata Attercop, which is almost as bad as Nymphadora Tonks, and her parents died when she was little and her big brother brought her up and her oldest niece is just starting. And she's called Lycidice which is almost as bad."

"Gosh! Some people do have the WEIRDEST names."

"Yes; like Sirius. All the Black family – well most of them – are named after stars. He's named for the dog star and he's a dog animagus too."

"That must be awfully odd, to be an animal some of the time."

"I don't know; I'm a snake animagus you see, so I think of it as quite normal."

"Didn't it feel odd at first though?"

"Well, I'm a bit peculiar because I was born an animagus, 'cos it was in the Voldemort years and mummy had to spend time as a snake when she was pregnant to fight and so it's sort of just natural. I used to give her conniptions changing and wriggling out of my nappy."

Venus giggled.

"A snake with a nappy does seem rather silly."

"Yes; nothing to tie it to. And when I was a terrible toddler I used to coil up and sulk snakily. Snakes sulk well; it's a cold sort of feeling."

"You feel cold?"

"Not physically – well, not if the surroundings aren't cold; but your emotions are sort of …..not. You're logical and not emotional. It can be disturbing; but it can also be useful to think things through without being clouded by feelings" Lilith explained.

"I don't think I'd like that."

"No; and any kind of animagus isn't what everyone might choose, let alone snake. I like snake; I'm descended from Salazar Slytherin you see and I'm hoping to be in Slytherin House. Had you picked?"

"No: I don't know enough" said Venus.

"The advantage of older siblings" said Lilith "I say, you need to know that lots of my older siblings are adopted. Actually, ALL my older siblings are adopted, like Jade who was Matron of Honour to the brides, and Lydia, who'll be in the sixth who was eating Viktor Krumm's face, and Mimi who's a full blood elf. Lydia and Mimi are the only ones in Hogwarts right now. Seaghsron is in the last year at Prince Peak because it was a ladies' academy and Daddy wanted some boys to leaven his lump of females. Jade went too to help lick them into shape; she's left now. SHE's co-winner of the Triwizard; my sister's really, really special!" said Lilith proudly.

"Oh! You must be awfully proud of her!" said Venus, rather hoping that the sister of so famous and wonderful a witch would like to be friends with her. "And she went together with the Hogwarts Champion; do you think they'll get married?"

"Jade and Lionel? Not hardly!" said Lilith "Jade's married to Wulf Luytens; they have a baby. She got married at Yule in the holidays and did the second two tasks being pregnant; ain't a man alive could cope with that! Besides, Lionel has three girlfriends already; he's a secondhand Malfoy. My dad has three wives; it works well enough so long as they all get on but when I pick a husband I'm going to keep him for myself. If I ever marry; which I might not. Grown ups are SOOO soppy!"

"Oh" said Venus, put to rights forcibly. "I say, did you know that my mother is a high class scarlet woman? 'cos if you didn't I'd rather you got being shocked over now before someone thinks it their duty to tell you."

"Well I sort of assumed, 'cos Auntie Eglantine's a Madam" said Lilith who was somewhat better informed on the subject than either of her parents realised. Lilith was an expert on overhearing conversations of her elders that were not intended for little pitchers. "I shouldn't think it would be a very fun job, but I guess there are compensations like going to parties with men and meeting interesting people there, 'cept you're probably not supposed to jinx the boring ones. I think people make an awful lot of fuss about scarlet women; the ones that are treated bad and left with babies didn't ask to be, and if the only job they can get is kissing toads that's pretty not nice to have to do without people making nasty comments. And secondary wives ought to be treated just like that. Like Uncle Lucius' wives and Daddy's and Lionel's. And Garjala's two husbands. And nobody calls Fred and George scarlet men for being shared so it's unfair. Anyway, that's irrelevant; let's go look for Lycidice. I guess we do that by process of elimination; I know Michelle Makepeace, and wish I didn't, and Maia, and Drusilla MacMillan who's a cousin of us Malfoy types, and I've heard about Mohini and Jayashree from Bella and they're Indian anyhow and it's a bit obvious and Roxanne Shacklebolt is black like Kingsley so that leaves those three to guess at"

She pointed them out and dragged Venus with her to find out who was who by explaining that David Fraser had asked her to look out for Lycidice Attercop and who was she.

"That's me" said a pale girl with a cloud of dark hair and blue eyes.

"Oh good" said Lilith "We DO make a striking group with Venus so blonde and pretty and me as red as a Weasley. Do you like potioneering?"

Lycidice shuddered.

"I don't think I do" she said. "I – actually, did Aunt Lyssi's friend warn you, I'm nearly a squib?"

"Gosh, what awfully hard lines!" said Lilith "Well, if you're in need of the extra help you'll be sorted to Rowan House with the Muggle siblings and learn as much as you can; and if you can do enough to be sorted into Hogwarts proper, well, the rest of us will help out, you know! I guess" she added "If the Sorting Hat is equivocal, you'd get more education in Rowan; but I think you'd have more fun at Hogwarts if you're not to proud to ask for help. For what it's worth" she added.

"I want to be part of the MSHG" said Lycidice.

Lilith spent time explaining this to Venus; and introduced them firmly to Gennar and James to whom she referred as 'chalk and cheese'. "You could see James with a long white beard sat at a bench of the wizgamot asking picky questions on a point of law to make sure of being fair; and Gennar being the dashing auror who's got his man because he can't keep his nose out of trouble" she said. James smiled.

"I'm no Marauder" he said in his gentle voice. "So don't try to make me Maraud, Lilith Snape; I've already made a good friend in Heath Barbary as well as getting on with Paris Bullivant; and we shall be sedate while whirlwinds like you cause mayhem around us."

"And as a triangle is a stable shape you'll probably not let us blow you over" grinned Lilith. "Gennar, you and Kazrael will surely Maraud?"

"Rather!" said Gennar.

This involved an explanation of Marauding to Venus and Lycidice, leaving out such details as blooding of course.

Lycidice laughed.

"I think I'd rather be an ally to Marauders than Maraud myself!" she said.

"As it's to fight evil and make things fair I think I'm in" said Venus.

"Great; four of us before we even get to Diagon Alley!" said Lilith happily.

"And me like poor Fabian the only boy" grumbled Gennar.

"Oh well, maybe we'll find another" said Lilith airily. "I can't help your bigotry against our sex" leaving poor Gennar spluttering to have his regret at being outnumbered by girls turned into an accusation of chauvinism.

The adults had been enjoying the wedding too; apart from Potentilla Greengrasse Bullivant who had run into Severus and was being reminded less than kindly of some of her childish Faux Pas when she was stupid enough to emote over how he could bear to part with his precious darling at so young an age, and how hard she found it to give up her darling baby. Potentilla had tried to interfere in Crocosmia's life by demanding that she be given every consideration and Severus had no time for silly women. He appreciated that she had written to the head over consideration for Pericles and Solon, both of whom had blood disorders – now fortunately fully treated by the healers of St Mungo's – but as both Crocosmia and this latest Bullivant offering, Paris, were rudely healthy she had no business fussing about him – or about the children of others and so he told her bluntly.

As her 'darling baby' had been enticed into a scratch game of quidditch and was busy trying to maim Gorbrin with a bludger any arguments about his delicacy DID fall rather flat. Emily and Kate Grant too were predictably in the thick of it and discovering the difference it made to be a part of a school with several houses and a year-long competitive drive; and were both planning to talk to Seagh Snape about raising the game of the Prince Peak first and second sevens!

Molly Weasley was in her element. Bill and Fleur had presented her with another grandchild – 'at LAST' in February and small Flora, the Anglicised version of Fleur, was old enough to be engaging. Hermione too, having waited so long to start motherhood had produced her second child, Sirius Harry, just as the Triwizard was about to be completed; and Garjala was visibly pregnant by Fred [or George]. Ginny had last year had twin girls, whom she duly named Frederica and Georgina and threatened to inflict another Fred and George thereby on Hogwarts in due course. This gave her four daughters in total and Molly was delighted at the idea of having four granddaughters having only ever had one daughter and she as much a boy as the rest, as she often mourned.

George [or Fred] joked that at least the year at Hogwarts taking those surnamed Weasley would have more Weasleys than Malfoys for a change; since he calculated that the year before they went up would have seven kids with the surname Malfoy and the Green twins whose mother was a Malfoy into the bargain and Pris Lockhart's and Prince Victor's daughter who was also of Malfoy descent; and that therefore a Fred and George were NEEDED in such a year, even if only surnamed Potter and only girls.

Ginny had hit him.

She was pregnant again and took full and unfair advantage over him not being able to hit her back!

She was not the only one; two of Severus' wives were expecting too, Sirri looking very pregnant and scandalising the stuffier of the guests and Dione, showing less for being due a whole month later. Ellie too was pregnant for the second time, and David was very protective of her.

The Prince Peak contingent had risked coming to the wedding to catch up with everyone on the principle that there were plenty of watchers now at the school in the persons of free elves, goblins and ex-werewolves who would send for them at need; and Severus estimated that Gerhardt needed time to regroup before he even considered anything else after the debacle of his attacks during the Triwizard.

Lucius enjoyed his parties; whether for adults with all the organisation of a wedding that Narcissa was so good at, and the chance to fuel arguments with the odd throwaway comment; or the children's parties where hopefully alliances might be made that would then transcend house boundaries and erode all the old rivalries and distrusts that had isolated the likes of him and given Tom Riddle his chance to recruit.

Lucius had every intention of doing all he might to prevent another Tom Riddle ever rising again. And he was glad that Jade had taken it on to herself to sniff around Durmstrang to make sure the Odessa were not about to export their blood snob ideals to Britain by more subtle means than had been used to date.

Lucius had learned a lesson about blood snobbery; it was futile, inefficient and really rather childishly stupid. He held that the only blood snobbery that counted was pride in family; and as that was a state of mind as much as blood line the family had to continue to do things to be proud of to enable that pride in descendants. And he was proud of all his children; those he had sired, those who were adopted kin, and those who were his step children. Like Gorbrin; the boy had not only taken two OWLs early but had taken 'O' grades in them! Lucius personally and privately believed that Gorbrin was capable of having taken the lot a year early and achieved 'O' in most if not all; but he respected the boy's caution as well as his ability. He adored all his children; but Gorbrin was one for whom he had a special place in his heart, for Gorbrin was a lad who showed signs of growing into a man who made things happen. Having the Malfoy name to wave helped to make things happen it was true; but not all his children were capable of waving it so efficiently.

And his leadership qualities were recognised in being one of the two prefects in the Fifth; and that he was a goblin was no longer reason to hesitate over that for Dumbledore. Lucius had high hopes of Gorbrin being Head of Slytherin House one day; maybe even elected Head Boy like Draco, the first ever goblin Head Boy. He would be no less proud of the lad if Dumbledore did not make him House Head in due course; but he dreamed dreams for Gorbrin that perhaps the boy did not dare to dream for himself.

Gorbrin himself had been talked into showing Lilith the things he and Erica were making in their Magical Metalworking class.

"Cool" said Lilith "Is it true that you can make metal change size as well? Lydia was saying something about it but we've been rather busy."

"Yes, there's a formula for how much size change you can enchant in" said Gorbrin.

"Oh a – a coefficient of magical expansion?" said Lilith.

Gorbrin laughed.

"Pest that you are, proto-weevil, that's the precise term; are you SURE you haven't been reading Lydia's notes?"

"It seemed logical" said Lilith "No I haven't, but I shall. I was going to suggest it'd be handy to make an innocuous looking knife that turned into a dirty great sword for whacking dark wizards with."

"That is rather a good idea" admitted Gorbrin "May I steal it for one of my finished items?"

"Do" said Lilith "It'll be a few years before they let me do it so it might as well be done and on hand. I guess you're going to build jewellery with the shield charm in for your other piece?"

"Am I so predictable?"

"Of course you are cousin Gorbrin" said Lilith "Boys always are. Malfoys always are. You're a boy AND a Malfoy so that makes you doubly predictable; at least to a girl who's also a Malfoy part time."

Gorbrin laughed. Lilith was a complex little thing who sometimes had a quaint way of putting things.

"Pity you'll be too young for the next Triwizard and too old for the one after" he said.

Lilith's violet eyes glowed with luminous fire.

"You want to lay money on me not getting into the next one?" she demanded.

Gorbrin pulled a face.

"Actually, no" he said. "Stupid comment; consider me suitable chastised…Ow! Oh! EE!" he added pretending to belabour himself about the head. Lilith hugged him.

"You and Draco are born clowns at times" she said. "Is he your special brother like Jade is my special sister?"

"Well he's my only BIG brother" said Gorbrin "Yes, in some ways I suppose he is; and Ian because I understand him; and Cosmo, because. And all of them because. It's good to be part of a big family; YOU know."

Lilith nodded.

"Because love has a strange Arithmancy; the more you divide it the more it multiplies" she said solemnly. "I'm glad you're well hard, Gorbrin; you're one of my favourite cousins because you understand the subtlety of Potioneering, and I expect when you marry Meliandra some stupid people will try to kill you."

Gorbrin blinked. Sometimes Lilith came out with the most profound and adult things. It was good that she was going to Hogwarts; she needed to be stretched to keep her out of mischief but she also needed to associate with ordinary children who weren't the high genius level half at least of her siblings seemed to be.

Gorbrin was totally unaware that he was logged by Professor Dumbledore as 'high stable genius' himself and was expected to take exceptional grades all through his course and have a bright future ahead in his chosen career as Auror.

Associating with Marauders – who tended to be the brightest and the best – was inclined to give a false view of what an average achievement or even an average child was. And Marauders too and their friends and associates spurred each other on.

Even as Gorbrin and friends had helped Albert MacMillan to achieve far more than his parents could have believed for a near squib; and he was on track to pass six or seven OWLs, which was as many as his sister Camellia had achieved; and moreover he planned to take at least three NEWTs. As Camellia had achieved two he had not yet mentioned this to his parents; but as one of them was Arithmancy that required no magical talent only brains – which Albert did not lack – he felt easy about following up his talent in dowsing with Divination as well and was torn between Potioneering – which he enjoyed and was actually fairly competent at – Geomancy, which would give him a job, with the dowsing, as a finder in the Auror's office and metalwork, for which he had also developed a talent. Sense told Albert to go with Geomancy: ambition and the knowledge that his friends would keep him from flagging led him to consider all five in the quiet moments of his soul.

But sense also told him to slog through this OWL year and make a decision after he got his results.

He told himself 'I'll take to NEWT anything I get 'E' in' and left it at that.

It was the holidays now; and the self-help class got a chance to play and have fun tramping, camping and getting tired and dirty in glorious play at Malfoy Manor for several days before returning home and remembering – some of them – that they were on the verge of taking OWLs.

The younger group, Bella and cohorts were too busy bemoaning that they would be fourth years and would have to go to the ball; and Bella was having a small private war with Narcissa – such as sisters do – over the advisability or otherwise of Bella having a ball gown of orange and black stripes. As Narcissa said, sometimes admiring tigers could be taken TOO far and that stripes looked good on tigers but not on ball gowns.

Bella was working up to a compromise of a gown in a glorious tiger orange which would look magnificent with her lustrous black hair but that Narcissa would have vetoed had she opened her bargaining with such; whereas several weeks in the holidays before going to Diagon Alley regretting tiger stripes should wear her older sister down to a point that she'd be prepared to accept almost any compromise.

Bella usually accepted Narcissa's strictures; and as such her rare manipulations of her sister worked all the better.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Diagon Alley!

Lilith knew that she would be on her own from the moment her father saw the pile of text books outside Smith's bookshop; his 'One Hundred Simple Chants and Rhythms and their Meanings' looked very fine and he could not resist making sure they were all correct – even though he had seen the Galley proofs and a sample. The mums had all gone back to Austria because Mummy wanted to support mothers Dione and Sirri while they waited for babies to pop; and Lilith had volunteered to help with labour pains this time because she was a big schoolgirl. And Mummy had sighed and agreed and daddy had laughed and said that perhaps she'd remember that and manage to avoid getting pregnant before SHE left school and both Mummy and Dione had poked him and said things about it taking two to tango.

It felt so grown up to be in Diagon Alley with a Cauldron – they had got that far before he was sidetracked – preparing to go to school.

And while he was out of the way was a good time for an intrepid would-be marauder to purchase essential supplies for illicit and thoroughly forbidden potions like boomslang skin for Polyjuice potion.

Lilith was heading for Hubble and Sterr's supplies when the snide voice said

"Hair that red almost HAS to be a Weasley."

She turned to see a skinny boy in rather darned robes who looked down his nose through untidy, long dark hair. The whimsical thought struck her that thus had her father looked once to the red-haired Lily; Lilith knew some at least of the story, knew she was called in part for Lily.

She smiled brightly.

"The balance of probability might indicate such a prognosis but if you placed a bet on it you'd lose your money" she said.

"The balance of probability doesn't always pan out" he shrugged "I see now you're too pedantic for a Weasley. Still Red though" he held out his hands and rubbed them together as though for warmth.

"Oh my deah fellah" said Lilith "We who are halfbreed Malfoys prefer to call it auburn doncha know. Impossible to be caddish when red."

"Oh my!" he sketched a mocking bow "I didn't know I was in the presence of so exalted a being! But can a Malfoy manage caddish even if only auburn and not red?"

"Rather" said Lilith "well I can. Erica doesn't do caddish so well; it's a terrible affliction and we don't talk about it but Erica's – well, NICE!" she dropped her voice as though admitting to a dire secret.

"How abysmal for you!"

"Oh absolutely! So us half breeds have to make up for it in swineish bounderishness" said Lilith.

He raised a supercilious eyebrow.

"My good kid, I don't know about half breed Malfoy but aren't you rather a half pint Malfoy?"

Lilith looked down her nose.

"I'm going up two years early; I'll be nine on the first of November. I'm what's generally called a precocious brat you know."

"Well you must certainly be the first to go up early; and I should rather say you are the second" he retorted unable to think of anything better.

Lilith gave a small, austere smile.

"One does one's best" she said. "Excuse me; I have to buy illicit supplies for inherent caddery before the pater catches up with me wot."

"Do you talk like that all the time?" he demanded.

"Only when I have an attack of the Cousin Draco on me…. I grew up on Convolvumort rehearsals, my sister was Leaky the house elf, you really expect me to take life seriously?"

His eyes were green and they gleamed, intrigued.

"What's your name?"

"Lilith Snape O fellow weevil. What's yours?"

"Sextus Scarpin…..yes the fellow with the revellaspell was an ancestor. You're buying potion supplies? I say, Snape – not a relation of Severus Snape, the world's pre-eminent potioneer?"

"That's daddy" said Lilith. "He's far more worth being proud of than Malfoy ancestors you know; though Lucius is pretty all right. And his son Gorbrin is one hell of a potioneer, he's been brewing NEWT level stuff since before he was at Hogwarts, and all self taught; I mean, I've eavesdropped on enough classes it almost doesn't count what I know. Are you in the same potioneering family line as Scarpin?"

"I think so…. I have a yen for transfigurations though, and I love numbers."

"You can't be great at anything, specially potions, if you aren't any cop as an arithmancer" said Lilith "Both my parents take Arithmancy very seriously….. you ought to be a marauder; my cousin Gennar – Gorbrin's full brother – would be pleased; we girls outnumber him to date."

"What's a marauder?"

"It began in dad's time at Hogwarts; several of them got together to be animagi to protect a friend who was a werewolf. That's why dad made the cure; because of his friendship with Uncle Remus. Then they fought Voldemort first time round and James Potter and Lily Potter died for Harry. And Harry was Dad's ward and Sirius Black was his godfather. And Harry and friends were the next lot of Marauders; and every couple of years the seniorest marauders in school pick a group that have marauded to be another layer. You have to stand up for what's fair and fight evil and get into heaps of mischief to practise for when you need the skills you learned doing mischief to do war. Boomslang skin I need and sopophorous beans and salts of cleansing…" she picked up ingredients for various potions. "Chanting can enhance ingredients too; and hurry on the growth of herbs too if you need them in a hurry."

"So you're inviting me into a select little gang with a Malfoy stepchild, a famous potioneer's daughter and doubtless others of the same ilk?" it was a sneer.

It was a sneer that was expecting to be told she was joking and anticipated laughter; it was a snarl and a snap at a hand that was offered in the expectations that it would give a blow not a titbit.

Lilith gazed into green eyes, hardened from experience of blows and understood.

"Though people tend to maraud in family lines it's more a matter of attitude and talent" she said. "We have a potioneering group as it happens; Venus and Kazrael are both strong on potions. Gennar's the weakest there. Kazi is also interested in transfiguration and Arithmancy; and she's a strong ideas person. I suppose it depends if you're stupid enough to despise goblins and part goblins; oh and by the way, one of my older sisters, who's adopted, is an elf and she's now going into the fourth and she's a Marauder. Are you a blood snob?"

He gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"Hardly! My father's a ruddy muggle; I can't really talk can I?"

"Oh, daddy's father was a muggle; it didn't work out at all between his parents. I guess both have to be very special people; like Charlotte Malfoy and Lucius. Do your parents fight?"

He stared.

"Only whenever they meet" he said. "MY parents never got around to getting married you see."

"Oh then that's probably much easier on you" said Lilith "Fighting parents at home cause lots of problems; when dad was head of Slytherin house he always had kids who had the most awful problems because their parents were fighting; some of the kids got badly injured by it too."

He stared.

"Truth?"

"Oh yes; he took one girl and her sister as his wards because she'd been so badly injured; it took serious chanting to cure it."

He sniffed.

"Well what do you know? Some people might be worse of than I thought I was" it was a mocking tone.

"You get to go to Hogwarts and learn don't you? Well before the free school that's better off than more than half the wizarding community" said Lilith "Don't get me on one of the family soapboxes or we'll be here all night; my brother's one of the teachers at the free school, 'cos that group of Marauders decided it was worthwhile to do. And one of the others is the first Goblin at Hogwarts, and Rom has just married his sister. Are you going to help me carry things Scarpin or are you just here to look decorative? If you don't WANT to maraud no-one's making you; but the offer's open to think about."

"I can't afford to help buy potion ingredients" he said.

"Oh that's all right; Gennar and I are both obscenely well off so we put in the spondulix" said Lilith "Mum managed to get her hands on the fortune of Tom Riddle Senior, 'cos she's Voldemort's daughter and we went from being as poor as rats in a sewer – with charity from Lucius – to being stinking rich. It's handy. And I say, Scarpin, Gennar remembers being poor before Lucius fell in love with his mum. There's no shame in being poor any more than there's shame in being rich. And Marauders hold property pretty much in common anyway; it's not a gang. It's much closer than that."

"I – all right. I'll join" his eyes were hungry.

"Good! We'll start on the train by pooling all the jinxes and things we know; to be well prepared against bullies. Those of us with older siblings score well here, of course; Venus knows hardly any. The biggest bullies are in the fifth; Crabbe and Zabini. And Zabini's clever. They're racist trash too. They can't bear that Gorbrin is cleverer than them by far so they always try to hurt his siblings and anyone else who is or is friends with a non human. Generally Bella and Mimi and that lot jinx them into a ball at some point. I'm going on what I've heard, obviously; but I have my spies" and she tapped the side of her nose.

"You eavesdrop on your elders" said Scarpin.

"That too" said Lilith equably.

Scarpin was claimed, as they left the shop, by an eccentric looking witch with too many coloured scarves and a hemline that was not level and who plainly embarrassed him. He plainly embarrassed her just as much.

"DO come along dear, we've such a lot to get" she said.

"See you on the train, Sec, if I don't see you before" said Lilith cheerfully "I have to find my errant parent also and peel him out of a book."

The message she hoped to convey was that all parents have foibles and we can still be proud of them; she hoped it got through.

When she ran Severus to earth – he was in the second hand section of Smith's delving into ancient tomes – she told him about Sextus Scarpin.

"He kind of made me think about the stories you tell of you at that age, dad" she said "All prickly. Only I'm a lot cleverer than Lily Evans and wiser too, aren't I?"

Severus' face worked a little. Lilith could come out with rather devastating comments at times. The worse perhaps because of the truth in them.

"You certainly understand a lot more about people" he said "And we've tried to teach you tolerance. Don't assume he's like me totally just because there are parallels; but if you can use what you know of my foolish childhood to help him I think it's an excellent idea. How ever much he sneers drag him forcibly to the MSHG; he'll sneer as armour to insulate himself against not being accepted. He'll sneer at you being well off for the same reason. This I understand very well! If you can put up with that and gently laugh at him for it, whilst standing his friend he will hopefully start to forget to be so prickly. Especially if you make it clear that House doesn't matter in friendships. It did in my day" he sighed. He would have given anything to have been invited into the gang of the popular James Potter and the wealthy Sirius Black, however puerile they could be; he would have secretly have loved the chance to be puerile with them. But that first encounter when James had sneered at Slytherin House had put an end to that; Sirius had decided to wish for Gryffindor, and if only he, Severus, had not been so contrary and had thought hard about being in Gryffindor with Lily life might have been very different.

And Lilith might not have existed.

It had worked out well in the end; and Sirius was like a brother to him and James too in his portrait, and gentle Remus; and like the others he felt a compassionate tolerance for Peter Pettigrew that had managed to stop despising him and feel only pity. This boy Sextus was lucky to have fallen in with someone as understanding as Lilith.

She had the tenacity not to let him cut off his nose to spite his face as Severus suspected he might. At least the boy had the sense to admit to his blood and to be prepared to try not to be racist to fit in rather than taking an opposite stand out of sheer perversity; as he might well have done. As he had himself done over Lily; for mudbloods were the only ones lower than a half blood to give him one-upmanship; and in Slytherin it was not done to be a mudblood lover anyhow. And, confused little boy as he was he wanted to be accepted by his house….

"I done right?" said Lilith.

He smiled at her tenderly.

"Perfectly" he said. "You bring them all to visit frequently; and we'll give this lad and Venus too some stable home life. And if he makes racist comments, well give him the chance to apologise after making clear it's not acceptable; he has to find someone to despise, you know, if he's poor, illegitimate and ashamed of his parents because it helps him feel better."

Lilith sniffed.

"Then he can jolly well despise racists for being sad gits" she said.

Severus hid a smile. It was all so simple to a child! Still, she might even get somewhere at that.

What swayed it for Sextus was the encounter in the robe shop.

There was the unmistakable figure of Narcissa Malfoy, one of the most famous witches in the world, and a selection of children of various ages including a number of goblins.

"Uugh, I do wish you didn't have to associate with goblins" said Madam Scarpin.

Sextus set his jaw and looked for a boy about his own age being fitted with new uniform; the bright-eyed goblin boy was squirming round to talk to a goblin girl whilst a typically Malfoy boy sat stiller beside him and Narcissa was saying

"If Madam Malkin drives enough pins into you for Madam McGonagall to mistake you for a hedgehog Gennar it will serve you right."

Sextus ignored his mother's little sounds of distress and went forward.

"Gennar Malfoy? I'm Sextus Scarpin, I just met Lilith Snape and she invited me to maraud."

Gennar grinned.

"WELL now!" he said "Us boys against the universe and what cousin Abraxus calls a 'monstrous regiment of not yet women'. That's Kazrael there" he indicated the goblin girl he had been talking to "And Venus is somewhere about with her mum and my brother James here doesn't maraud."

"Too lazy" said James "I'll keep cave and pass intelligence but I'd as soon be curled up with a good book thanks!"

"My big brother Gorbrin's as bad" said Gennar gloomily "Though he's by way of being an honorary marauder. My brother Nathan on the other hand – who's probably the brother I'm closest to – is trying to get his group invited to be real marauders. You have to be invited you see after you've marauded successfully; but if you have the right ideals it's only a matter of time. We're dead lucky to have Lilith, a child of two past marauders is almost certain to have her group looked on favourably because she's grown up with marauding. Sorry mum" he said as Narcissa clipped him across the back of the head with two fingers.

"As if outfitting you lot wasn't trying enough without having a marauding meeting too…. You squirm like Lilith's snake form Gennar!" she said in exasperation "Nice to meet you young Sextus now please go and get your clothes sorted out before I lose the little sanity I have left to me, the lot of you can gossip and plot on the train and then I shan't have to know about it!" she pulled a face "And there's still Bella….."

Sextus gave a jerky bow and moved away, intrigued by a mention of 'snake form'; surely a child so young could not be an animagus?

These Malfoys really did not make any distinction between any of the children.

Sextus was only to buy essentials like socks and shirts in here; for the rest of his uniform it would be the second hand clothes shop.

And his mother anxious to get him out of there and be away from goblins.

Which was silly; had not the conversation he had with Gennar Malfoy been just as it might have gone had the boy been human?

He went silently sullen with his mother while Bella was busy compromising over flame coloured shot silk with her sister and letting Narcissa talk her into the less garish – and prettier – of two she had picked as alternatives to stripes. She and Nathan were having something of a face-pulling contest through the window in between Bella's measurements being checked, Nathan waiting outside the shop having been loud in his appreciation that he wouldn't need formal robes for another couple of years and Narcissa having sent him to wait outside before Bella, in her own idiom, scragged him. Fortunately for Madam Malkin's peace of mind, Nathan saw one of his own marauding group, Isambard Cooper, and waved.

"I'm about to die horribly" said Isambard cheerfully.

"Any particular reason?" said Nathan.

"When dad realises that Niobe has a mouth full of ton-tongue toffee and that I gave it to her" said Isambard.

"Any particular reason? She's not up until next year, is she?" said Nathan.

"That's right; and already whining that she don't want to go to school and can't she have a tutor; the only bright spot in her mind is that she gets to start with Chrysogon Rufus" Isambard rolled his eyes.

"He can't be as bad as his mum's poetry makes out; no kid could!" said Nathan "He's related to Mad Lockhart you know."

Isambard brightened.

"Well if he isn't so bad as that maybe he'll not get off on moony dozy apes like m'sister going gooey eyed" he said. "Between being a watering pot. That's why I gave her the toffee; to have some brief respite from the whining"

"ISAMBARD!"

"That's dad; I'll see you on the train and hope I can sit down for the journey" said Isambard cheerfully.

Nathan gave him a friendly buffet; and reflected on how lucky he was in all his siblings and such – even Bella – although he had more than Isambard to have the chance of being a pain.

Niobe would soon shake down once she got to school; at least, one hoped so.

Lilith was looking out for other weevils; and took exception to being jostled by a grown up who shouted at her.

"Brat, look where you're going!" he said.

"Actually" said Lilith "I was standing still; the only person going – and presumably not looking – was you, sir."

"Then you shouldn't stand in the way!"

Lilith regarded the man inscrutably and snakily; he had a dark haired boy with him who sneered faintly at her. She allowed herself to sneer faintly back; and as the man dragged his son past her she dropped the dirigible fart curse on him. It was a pity its effects were so subtle that she would not see the results but she might dwell on the thought of his farts turning into hydrogen within a bubble charm to gradually lift him by the nether regions. Lilith was quite happy to apologise if she had been careless and got in the way; she did NOT appreciate the rudeness of some grownups that assumed that they were always in the right and children always in the wrong.

She waved at Heath Barbary who she had met at Lucius' weevil fest; his sister hung around a bit with older chanters which had led to Heath being invited. It was nice that cousin James had some good friends to start with, though Lilith; the quiet ones could suffer otherwise. Heath and Sara were with someone she vaguely recognised; but put it down to his resemblance to Heath.

Lilith had only vaguely heard of Heathcote Barbary, rhythm guitarist with the Weird Sisters; the popular Wizarding band was not her cup of tea and she had entirely forgotten that the Barbary children had a famous uncle.

Indeed Sara was busy explaining to her famous uncle that that was Lilith who was also related to the Malfoys and it was nice having people who took you for yourself and not for being related to someone lots of people had heard of and he wasn't to be offended but Lilith had been heard to express the opinion that the Weird Sisters was for old folk.

Which piece of information Heathcote fortunately took in good part and with amusement. He was still adjusting to his niece and nephew being firmly Slytherin not Ravenclaw and being told that the FUN people were in Slytherin and Ravenclaw – with a few exceptions – was full of dorks.

Lilith meanwhile was looking indulgently at obvious muggle parents with their son. The boy was actually grinning at a racist comment made by the boy who HAD to be Zabini.

Lilith wandered over.

"Hello Zabini" she said "I wouldn't if I was you."

"Who the devil are YOU?" said Zabini.

"I'm the latest Snape to be coming up" said Lilith "And I'm just DYING to practise corridor curses on nasty racists you know."

Zabini looked cunning.

"Indeed? Well if you know what's good for you, you'll stay out of my way because it'll upset your freak of a sister when I hurt you."

"He is a comedy turn, isn't he?" remarked Lilith to the muggleborn weevil. "I see he's learned wandless and wordless magic; very nice try Zabini" as her almost unconscious legilimensy picked up the thought formulated and she countered the stinging hex. "But as they say, no banana" she added as the flash of green light turned Zabini a pretty shade of avocado green. "I wonder if it goes all the way down?" she added, concentrating on making his robes invisible "Oh yes."

Zabini stared in horror.

"It's impossible!" he said "No eleven year old could do such sophisticated magic!"

"Oh I'll not be eleven for a couple of years yet" said Lilith "I got bumped up 'cos I'm bored without proper study. It's just my own ineffable charm and talent and being the granddaughter of Voldemort. You did realise that being Krait Malfoy Snape's daughter makes me the granddaughter of Voldemort too, didn't you? Stay out of my way Zabini, and the muggleborn kid's way and really the way of any other weevil. I don't like you."

Zabini stared; then turned on his heel and strode off, in order to unjinx himself at leisure.

"Is that clown for real?" asked the muggleborn boy.

"'Fraid so" said Lilith "We have racism in the wizarding world; aimed against those of muggle blood, goblins and elves and my adopted sister is an elf, so it's something I'm WELL aware of; he's a year older than her and doesn't like it that she's more competent than him. Mind, he's pretty talented to be casting wandless and wordless" she conceded.

"Yes, but hang about – so were you!"

"Sometimes heritance counts" shrugged Lilith "Either that or its because I grew up with hard witches and wizards who fight the injustices in society. Dad and mum are opposing the – oh, let's just call them the wizarding Nazi party and leave it at that for now; if you join the MSHG you'll learn more, it's a self help group and what was your name? I'm Lilith Snape."

"Dunbar Finch" said the boy.

"Fine; don't let anyone push you around, if they do, find me. Reckon you'd enjoy the MSHG and I think I see someone you could get on well with OY! JORKINS TYPE WEEVIL!"

Another boy turned.

"I'm Granville Jorkins; did you mean me?" he asked.

"That's right; us weevils – first years – gotta look out for each other and you look like the Jorkins twins I know, Albert and another Granville, and they're nice so I thought you might like to look out for Dunbar Finch here. He's all right; just laughs at racists."

"Racism is silly" said Dumbar.

"Not when it gets people killed" said Granville "Like my great aunt who was murdered for trying to….well, it's a long story. This girl knows my Albanian cousins I guess; though I'm not sure how."

"'Cos my dad is headmaster at Prince Peak where they go to school and I don't want to be taught by mostly relatives" said Lilith

"Fair do's" said Granville "I didn't want to be muddled up with another Granville Jorkins; and us English Jorkins have always gone to Hogwarts anyway. I say, I think our various parents are hoping to get on; we'd better be good."

Lilith, having contrived to lose her parent, smiled indulgently.

This was the point at which she was collared by Willow Black.

"THERE you are Snape Weevil!" she said "Your dad wants to get you a wand; so I picked up yours and traced you down using it."

"That's pretty subtle and clever since I haven't even seen it yet, let alone taken possession" said Lilith, impressed. "Elder, basilisk crest core, twelve and a half inches?"

"WELL! You know what you want" it was Willow's turn to be impressed. "Especially as Elder is almost never used."

Lilith shrugged.

"I've dreamed about it a few times" she said "And what I didn't see in the dream is a bit obvious really. With my heritance an' all" she added, "I don't see other people's wands like they say you do."

"We all have different gifts I guess" said Willow "Now come along and collect your wand."

Lilith danced along happily and was soon pouring stars out of her wand with the aplomb of a child almost twice her age.

"And DON'T get caught using it inappropriately" warned Willow "Because that'll rebound on your father too. You have fun at Hogwarts and try not to be Hermione Granger at everyone just because you're so talented; and TRY not to get involved in any quests until you're a few years older!"

"Willow, did YOU ask to get involved in any quests or did they just happen to you?" demanded Lilith.

Willow exchanged a rueful look with Severus.

"Your brat has a point" she said to him.

"It's one of her less endearing features" grinned Severus "A permanent connection to the big book of casuistry."

"And if there was a big book of casuistry, I bet the Malfoy twins would have written it" said Willow.

Another child came in with her parents as Lilith was about to leave and Willow was already reaching for a wand.

"Applewood with a unicorn tail hair core" said Willow.

"'Ow do you know so easily?" asked the child, taking the proffered wand. She had a slight French accent.

"I don't know; I just see what I have to make and when the right person comes in I know whose it is" said Willow. "Did you know in advance like young Lilith here?"

The other girl shook her head.

"No ma'am; but you're the expert" she said. "Hello Lilith; do you start this year? Didn't I see you at the party? I'm Alcippe."

"Oh yes; we never actually got around to speaking" said Lilith having the tact to refrain from mentioning that she thought the girl had looked boring. "Alcippe Chevallier isn't it, a connection to the extinct Withers family?"

"Mais oui – I mean, yes, that is so. You Malfoys 'ave – have Withers connections too, don't you?"

"Yes; though I'm a sort of second hand Malfoy being a Snape" said Lilith. "Crumbs did anyone introduce you to Gorbrin? He's crazy enough to try to reintroduce Quidpolo and he's looking for volunteers to play with him."

"Ah, formidable!" cried Alcippe "I will certainly volunteer; our ancestor's game should not be forgotten! Besides, I am no great player of Quidditch so perhaps zis ozzer game will be my thing, no?"

Her accent became more pronounced.

"Don't hold your breath on that" warned Lilith "It won't be a school game; he's just putting together scratch teams for the hols. School games are quidditch, hockey, hurley and cricket."

Alcippe gave a Gallic shrug.

"Then I will not shine" she said philosophically "But I will at least get a good education; that is why I do not go to Beauxbatons because their triwizard performances are disappointing; my parents want me to learn, and as learning come 'ard to me I must be in the best school, no?"

"Well, anyone who needs help can always ask us oiks that it does come easy to" said Lilith "You should join the MSHG for its self help stuff."

Alcippe beamed.

"But yes! I will; and I have heard of this too at the party!" she said.

Lilith grinned.

Good old Lucius! His parties even got the boring ones joining in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hi Ross, any idea who the house heads are?" asked Gorbrin as the Malfoy contingent converged on Platform nine-and-three-quarters.

"Yes. Good grief, Gorbrin, are you telling me that the head decided to fly with the triumph of hope over experience and make yet another Malfoy a prefect?" said Ross.

"Idiot" said Gorbrin equably. "All right let me rephrase MY question; who are the house heads?"

"Ah, that's a different matter!" grinned Ross. "M'sister in Gryff; Heather Burns in Slyther; Shona Moorcroft for the Huffers and Mei Chang for Ravenclaw. It's a no brainer who we elect of course."

"Two years running of Ravenclaw Head Girls? Will their house survive without a large dose of stuck-upitis?" said Gorbrin.

Ross shugged.

"That's a risk to take; but Freya, dearly as I love my sister, is too much of a micro-manager to survive being Head Girl without the junior school rising in a body to form a political coup; Heather is a resourceful girl and second choice in my book, as well she might be, as she's my girlfriend; but she's as happy to be led as to lead; and Shona is a bit likely to ignore the school burning down if she has any kind of potion to brew. Mei Chang heads up the oldest Marauders. Who else should be head of school?"

"Oh I concur with all your comments" said Gorbrin "I like Shona and she's a dedicated potioneer but at the expense, sometimes, of being an approachable person. And your people really are a little headless without Lionel; he was much more a leader than anyone of any one group of Marauders."

"Oh well, see you in the prefects meeting then" said Ross "And try to keep your unholy siblings from starting world war three while we're voting."

"That's why I'm glad it's likely to be quick and quiet politics" said Gorbrin "We have a potential new layer of marauders along; and may the Powers have mercy upon our souls!"

Ross was still chuckling when two second year Gryffindor boys might be seen approaching, each barging the other with his trolley, and acrimonious words flying.

One of them started to go for his wand.

"YOU WARTS!" bellowed Ross "STOP that immediately! What do you think this is, a school for underprivileged retarded baboons? Because that's what you two are acting like! Names?"

"I'm Orlando Ogden" said one

"My name is Edward Kettleburn and it's outrageous the way he…"

"No tales! What I'm seeing is that you're BOTH at fault! Kettleburn, you're first in the alphabet; go and get on the train. Ogden, five minutes to cool down IF you please.

"What go in first and let him tell tales? I don't…." Said Kettleburn.

"Mr Kettleburn; you do. I don't want to hear the loathsome apology of excuses from repellent excrescences on the body of the school from either party; hoppit or you'll be in prefect deten" said Ross, doing his best Lionel impressions.

Kettleburn hopped.

"And I'm glad to see him out of the way!" said Ogden "Officious little twerp!"

"I believe I said I was uninterested in the cacaceous effluvium of your juvenile maunderings" said Ross. "You may go in; try to pick a different compartment from Kettleburn."

"But if he sits with Genevieve Harris, what am I to do?" wailed Ogden "He'll monopolise her!"

"Then utilise the time to write her a love letter instead that she can keep; use what few wits haven't dribbled out of your nose" said Ross unkindly. "Hoppit!"

Ogden too hopped.

Love interest? At twelve years old? Oh dear!

On the train Lilith was busy collecting her group of prospective Marauders and their satellites and was delighted to learn from Gennar that he had met Sextus.

Lilith firmly introduced the boy she had decided to look after to Kazrael and Venus.

"And we can spend the journey swapping what corridor curses we know!" she said happily.

"And playing this new game my dad's having published" said Gennar "It was proposed to him by a couple of youngsters in Umbrous Lane, only they didn't have the inside knowledge to make it totally good; it's called 'Beat Voldemort' and without going into the squishier aspects of some of the dark magic – that I don't know about and dad won't tell me – you get to collect dark items to destroy. There's a personality card each that you pick at random – Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Sirius Black and others who were involved and you go around the board collecting knowledge cards and item cards and some are clues to work out how to get some of what you want; you have to be half good at arithmancy or hold Hermione Granger who does some of the calculations for you and random events happen too, like Voldemort turns up and you have to beat him temporarily if you haven't got the seven dark sources; and you can pool resources at any time or play a lone hand 'cos the enchantment in the board opposes you as Voldemort and dad programmed a lot of that 'cos of knowing him; and he's toned it down lots too. But if Voldemort's on the board, some of the cursed items can acksherly cast stinging hexes at you if you don't treat them with care. Nathan and Bella each have a copy and we have to make notes on how it plays and if there's any problems with it before dad publishes it for real."

"Sounds cool!" said Lilith "Let's swap curses first then have a go; can we choose who we are?"

"I guess" said Gennar "If so, bags I be Lucius Malfoy!"

Lilith giggled.

"Sec should be Severus Snape; he's a potioneer and QUITE as sarcastic as daddy! And if mum isn't in the pack I'll be Hermione Granger if nobody minds, though I bet I can do my own Arithmancy!"

"Who else is there?" asked Venus.

"Oh, Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom, Madam McGonagall – her card always advises against pooling resources with juveniles – Kingsley Shacklebolt, Krait Snape – you get Arithmancy advantages off both Snapes by the way, and Ancient Runes off Dad and different things off different people – Ginny Weasley and David Fraser. Low on girls I'm afraid but a reasonable selection."

"I'll have Lilith's mum if she's settled on having Hermione Granger" said Kazrael.

"I'll let you have mum as she is in the pack and not hold out for my baggsing" said Lilith, equably "I'd like to play her sometime but I guess you know her and you don't know Hermione."

It was only a game after all.

"And me for Ginny Weasley please" said Venus.

"Interesting" drawled Sextus " – for I'm more than happy to play Professor Snape – that nobody picked Harry Potter."

"Oh Harry's all right" said Lilith "But after all, who would really WANT to be 'the chosen one'?"

Meanwhile Ross was being approached by a smart looking witch with a little girl of about fourteen. He had a name on a list of a new middle schooler so he smiled.

"Wendy Manning?" he asked "I'm Ross Tuthill; train prefect."

"Gee, you were actually expecting me?" said Wendy, impressed. Her accent was transatlantic.

"Professor Dumbledore lets me have a list of all who are expecting to be on the train" said Ross "Not that we hold it for those who are egregiously late! But it helps me welcome new people and check up on those who aren't generally late but who are scatty or have scatty parents; like my friend Mary-Anne Green who took two years to arrive on the right day let alone the right time; her dad's the nicest but he lives in a world of his own!"

"Waal, I guess my parents are pretty wanded up" said Wendy "So I sure hope I will not cause you any headaches!"

"What year are you going into? Fourth?" asked Ross.

"Yes; and I have a ball gown for your English custom of Yule Balls" said Wendy "And I cannAT get over how old all the buildings are here!"

"Wait 'til you see Hogwarts!" grinned Ross "It's as ancient a pile as any in its basis I think; and pretty impressive when you first see it, even though the outside's only about fourteenth century!"

"Gee,he says ONLY!" said Wendy.

"Well the oldest parts date back to the times of the founders of course" said Ross "And that's seventh century if I recall correctly; ask Genavka Malfoy Tobak; she's the history buff in your year."

"Gee, so it is true, goblins throughout the school and nobody turns a hair?"

"Goblins; and elves; and the odd hag" said Ross "No, I tell a lie, we've only had two hags to date and they left in July; but the principle's the same. And there are penalties for racist remarks so I hope you aren't going to make any!"

"Aw, you get me wrong!" said Wendy "I just never met any goblins you see; my parents are in England to make notes about how the radical move to equality is working, and gee, I guess if I'm at school that's mixed race, I'll do my bit to let them know how it works!"

"It works very well; as you'll find out" said Ross "We've a handful of racists but most people don't take a lot of notice of them save to jinx them into a ball if they try any bullying. Hold on, here's my girlfriend; Heather, will you take Wendy Manning and wish her onto Bella and co? they'll look after her."

"My pleasure" said Heather "Come on through, young Manning; let's get you settled."

"Oh gee! How English to use surnames! That's just WONDERFUL!" said Wendy, impressed.

Heather only hoped the Belle Marauders were not going to giggle at her too much.

Fortunately Wendy was too interested in being told EVERYTHING when introduced to the Belle Marauders that they were able to talk non stop; and got used to her before her fascination with all things ancient and English made them giggle. They and the Malfoy-Tobak twins and sundry other luminaries of the fourth were also playing 'Beat Voldemort' and cut Wendy in straightaway as they were still quarrelling over who was going to be who, there not being enough female characters. This led to the decision that nineteen people couldn't all play on the same board and it was fortunate that Lucius had dished out a copy to selected of his children; and they split into two groups and Wendy did not have time to wonder at several goblins and an elf being part of those she was playing with. And in the end they drew characters at random rather than waste more time squabbling and Wendy found herself playing the dour Madam McGonagall and had great fun being led by the Scots transfigurationist in disbelieving Severus Snape – a giggling Isabel Nightshade – and trying to prevent Harry Potter – Bella – from getting into trouble; which Jack Clements, playing Dumbledore, said was about as realistic as anyone stopping Bella Black, played by Bella Black getting into trouble, which comment caused a brief interlude of an exchange of jinxes.

Wendy was terrified; she had never seen anything like the level of jinxes being exchanged and Jack, green with purple blotches – a combination of Avocado Kedavra and Aubergine Kedavra combined in unholy harmony – boneless and with spider legs growing out of his face playing honky tonk music called 'pax' and returned to normal with a negligent wave of Bella's wand.

"Well I blocked the bat bogey hex and the jellied furnunculus curse" said Jack.

"Yes; and that was neatly done wordless" said Bella.

"Was – was that just in FUN?" said Wendy as they picked up their cards as though nothing had happened.

"Of course!" said Bella "Ya think I'd be playing cards with someone I seriously wanted to hurt? Jack wants to be an auror; it's up to the rest of us to challenge him so he's hard enough when the time comes."

"I don't think any of my parents' schoolfriends did that" said Wendy, doubtfully "They're both aurors."

"Oh top marks for cool parents then" said Bella "Maybe you don't have quite the level of dark wizardry in America we're used to here; what with Tom Riddle – that's Voldemort's real name – and then Odessa interfering from Germany."

"Yes; I heard my parents discussing this Odessa that they'd been told about; they thought I was asleep" said Wendy. "IS it true they attack SCHOOLS?"

"I'll say! We've fought off heaps of attacks!" said Bella "Well not us personally, not all of them, I've helped fight stormwizards – we knocked them off brooms with jets of water and people like Gorbrin froze them into ice statues – but we were reckoned too young to help against the Erklings when they came. I guess that the grown ups DID have a point" she conceded "But we've not had a crack at dementors yet, the big ones, fifth years and above did that. You will join the MSHG won't you, and learn to fight dark wizards? 'cos there's an awful lot of Germans in America, isn't there, that might get Odessa established there!"

"Gee, I'd never thought of that!" said Wendy looking scared and thoughtful. "What a quaint name for the group!"

"Oh it was started by my nephew Draco and his friends; most of whom we have here as cards!" laughed Bella "It was to disguise it from the children of deatheaters and their sympathisers and so on you see!"

"I guess there's a lot I don't know about the reality of what we're playing; and gee whizz, it really brings it home that you lot just KNOW some of the people involved!"

"We happen to be related to some of them" said Mimi "And THAT means we know a lot more than is in this game; like Bella and me know the REAL nature of the loosely named Dark Items we're so blithely collecting here. The things that could have killed the mighty Professor Dumbledore if my dad – I'm the adopted daughter of Professor Severus Snape – hadn't been such a great chanter; and other ritual shit they all did that we just don't talk about. So if we're cagey, Wendy, it's 'cos there are some things those of us who were kids at the time and living at the castle don't LIKE remembering; and others we've been told to not talk about. And Lucius has done a good job of playing some of them down whilst making a good game out of it; but I can't say I enjoy this as much as a kid might who didn't remember all this for real. So we'll tell you what we may; but no more. Okay?"

"Sure thing!" said Wendy looking on Mimi with considerable respect if a little shock over her language, being as yet unaware that what was considered inappropriate language varied from one side of the Atlantic to the other. Her little knowledge of elves was of the subservient ones who referred to themselves in the third person; and who would never have this quiet dignity over something that sobered at least three other children, Bella and Jack and Alex Yaxley.

Ross had got onto the train long since after receiving a rather garbled message from a house elf from St Mungo's to the effect that one of the first years was to be late to school; Monica Wintringham was with her mother in St Mungo's, that unfortunate woman having had a severe reaction to a doxy bite and being in some peril of her life.

"Crumbs, tell them to poke a bezoar down her neck then!" said Ross automatically.

The elf's ears went up.

"Bezoar!" he said "Young Master is very wise! We hasn't used bezoars for a long time; Dessy knows where they are stored though!"

Ross thought it fairly obvious; that it would at least counteract the poison.

Whether it would counter any allergic reaction he was not sure; but surely as bezoars cured all known poison, it ought to work!

He looked back down the line by some strange instinct as the train pulled out, to see a big black dire-wolf like dog burst onto the platform and try to chase the train. It picked up speed too quickly however; and Ross was not displeased.

"Well some dogs chase cars; maybe wizarding dogs chase trains" said Heather, standing beside him.

"Or maybe not" said Ross "We'll pass this on to the Marauders as well as to our own group I think; that way if it DOES mean trouble, we can be prepared. Anyway, I'm off to vote."

"Have fun; I think Mei's best but obviously I shan't shirk responsibility if anyone wants me" said Heather "Any more than Freya will."

Ross thought she was tactful not to say anything about Shona who was a better scholar than Hufflepuff usually had with a high degree of initiative, a charismatic girl and practical enough most of the time. Until she got buried in an academic problem.

Shona was taking four NEWTs, more than most in Hufflepuff ever did; Potions, Herbology, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes; and if she was tipped for no more than a pass in Ancient Runes she was expected to take an 'O' in potions and an 'E' at least in the other two. As she was the first Huffer ever to take Arithmancy to NEWT level – even Myrtle Carmichael had stopped short at OWL – she was her house star; and somehow it seemed unfair to take her attention from her academic achievement, and though Shona would doubtless have accepted the mantle of Head Girl, she might just have resented it a little. And, reflected Ross, how nice it was to know that any one of the four house heads WOULD have accepted the responsibility and tried to live up to it; for he had heard from Lionel how, when he was head of Slytherin and ultimately elected Head Boy, all the other house heads were wriggling over why the responsibility was too much!

The assorted prefects were fairly unanimous; even if Lydia Snape, one of Mei's closest friends and fellow Marauder giggled and said that it would doubtless make the staff relieved to know that enough things would tie Mei down if she were head girl that she'd be less likely to be in trouble herself.

"Laugh it up, Lydia" said Gorbin laconically "Reckon I'll be voting for you next year; 'cos one of the alternatives is likely to be Mad, Chad or Leo."

He was poked by several Marauders.

The train duly arrived having been a long enough journey for Voldemort to have been beaten on several boards and a spirited discussion to have taken place over what was good and what could be improved and what minor glitches there might be; and for Sextus to have forgotten to be totally suave and sarcastic – outside of the concept of being Severus Snape, in any case – and to start to make tentative friends with the other would be Marauders in the first.

"Are you trying for Slytherin?" asked Lilith casually.

"No; Ravenclaw. My mother was a Ravenclaw and I guess it's the family house" said Sextus.

Lilith shrugged.

"Well house don't matter; and I guess they could do with some decent juniors from what I've heard" she said. "Though there's supposed to be a few decent ones, my cousin Nathan hangs out with a couple."

Sextus nodded, casually; a bit too casually.

Still, if house didn't matter he could please his mum and not offend Lilith.

Lilith remembered that she was NOT to hug Hagrid, and contented herself with beaming at him. She had seen the castle from this angle a number of times of course; but now she was to be a pupil; and that made it different and special. Sort of even SOLEMN.

Most of the other new ones were subdued by the grandeur of the castle – and the size of Hagrid – and got into the boats with a minimum of fuss. The Rakshasa, Mohini and Jayashree, pulled faces at water travel; but tigers will swim if they have to and boats were an improvement on swimming.

Wendy went in the carriages and was to go first in the hatting; as Bella explained to her kindly and asked if she could see the thestrals that pulled the carriages.

"Thestrals? Aren't they unlucky?" demanded Wendy "I don't see anything pulling the carriages."

"Oh, you've never seen death then" said Bella "Lots of people haven't even by as old as fourteen; some people have really sheltered lives I guess. Don't worry about it! And they're not unlucky, it's a myth, we always use thestrals to pull the carriages to school."

Wendy got into a carriage nervously and hoped Bella was right – and wondered that children as young as fourteen HAD seen death!

The hat gave its usual homilies; and Wendy was sent into Slytherin House, partly, it has to be said, because she reckoned that the majority of the children who had been decent to her were in Slytherin so it seemed a good house to be in.

As the fourth in Slytherin were actually all friendly, and got on well with each other – even, mostly, Mafalda Prewett now Dumbledore had stopped her parents trying to cram her into a nervous breakdown – she was not far out.

The girls' dormitory would be a little cramped; but with people prepared to compromise that mattered less than in a year with personality problems! Nine girls and six boys made that year one of the largest years of any house; but Bella, Mimi and Drusillina intended to solve the problem and it may be noted that later they chanted with aplomb and skill and introduced a wide alcove in wizarding space in which to accommodate their fellows more comfortably, for even eight had been a little tight, and the fifth year was fairly full as well and nobody wanted to sleep in with 'a bunch of kids' in the third!

Slytherin house of the first received such expected members as James Pender Malfoy and Gennar; Paris Bullivant and Heath Barbary; and had also Michelle Makepiece – Lilith made a face – and Maia Pleiades, determined to be in her sponsor's house! Gareth Rookwood was the name of the boy with the father whose farts Lilith had jinxed; it was an old name associated with Deatheaters and Lilith resolved to keep an eye on the boy.

When it was her turn Lilith greeted the hat silently and cheerfully. There was no question what Lilith wanted; and the hat did not bother to argue that she would be an asset to Ravenclaw. Lilith too was in Slytherin, whence she was followed by Kazrael.

Sextus was in Ravenclaw already as he had decided; and Lilith wondered if she should have let the hat talk her into Ravenclaw. Still, she could slip in to see him any time, either with elf-style apparation – Lilith had not bothered to tell anyone she could apparate, she thought it such a simple and obvious skill it had not occurred to her that people found it difficult – or talk her way through the knocker that asked, as Bella declared, obvious and silly riddles.

Venus ended up in Gryffindor; and that meant a cross school mix that was, Lilith thought, very useful. Lycidice and Alcippe were Gryffs too; and was good backing for Venus.

Lilith did wonder if Assim Khan's niece might just end up as a marauder too; which as she went with Mohini into Hufflepuff would give them a marauder in every house. It was early days yet however; and best to let the young Rakshasas settle down together first.

And then the head announced the new Head of School; and though it was no surprise that the prefects had chosen Mei Chang she still got a hearty roar of approval, though the Head did point out that he would have been happy once again with any of the House Heads and that although he felt the best had been chosen he was very pleased with all his seniors. And if Freya Tuthill was a little disappointed she was generous enough to congratulate Mei and accept that she was probably the best choice.

Zvetelina Krumm, whilst not head of Hufflepuff House, was a practical girl and more aware through Lydia than Shona Moorcroft of the potential pitfalls of having weretigers in the house drew the first year girls off to their dorm and prepared to make one or two things quite clear.

"You girls all look quite sensible" she said "But there is a need to get a little bit ahead of teaching you receive in the class Comparative Magic. About certain different kinds of shapeshifters."

"Do you mean we have a werewolf that needs us to be kind of understanding every month?" asked one girl.

Zvetalina smiled.

"Not quite; moderately close though – Drusilla Macmillan, isn't it? You've Malfoy connections."

Drusilla nodded a sandy head.

"Yes, er, I don't know your name, prefect, I'm sorry."

"I am Zvetelina Krumm; and I am always happy to try to solve any problems; including what we laughingly call here furry little problems" she said "Werewolves are the result of disease; a disease that can be passed down in families too. It is also curable as most sane werewolves desire, for in wolf form they lose their personality and intellect. Not all shapeshifters do. One such is the Rakshasa, mistakenly called the Indian weretiger" the eyes of the three English girls flicked to the two Indian ones. Zvetelina went on, "In tiger form the rakshasa is perfectly lucid, reasonable and unlikely to eat people; indeed they are able to speak words, as I understand. But they must spend eight hours of every day as tigers. It makes sense that they should then do their sleeping in tiger form; but it is also understood that those people who are NOT tigers might, without due warning, get a shock to find a dorm mate being black and orange with a er, fluffy white tummy."

"You've been talking to Bella Black" said Jayashree.

"Bella IS rather loud about how cool tigers are" said Zvetelina dryly. "And I imagine most put out not to have any in Slytherin House; which as Slytherins are supposed to be all snaky is hardly surprising. However! I am hoping that those of you who are not tigers will be accepting and not be silly about those who are."

"Please, Zvetelina, we'll try!" said another child, Phylloxera* Sprout, Zvetelina recalled her name, presumably some relative of the house head. "Are they relatives of Professor Khan? Great Aunt Pomona said he has a tiger form."

That answered Zvetelina's curiosity about Phylloxera's relationships.

"He's my uncle" said Jayashree "And Mohini was supposed to marry him but he wants to pick his own wife not leave it to my grandmother which is awfully brave of him 'cos I'd be scared to tell her I didn't want to do what she'd arranged!"

"He said I can come to school instead and find someone suitable for myself!" said Mohini "And it does sound jolly, but I don't want to Maraud."

The other little girls looked completely mystified.

"Marauding isn't for everyone" said Zvetelina "I didn't want to be a Marauder either; it's not very Hufflepuffish, though if anyone gets invited I don't say it's wrong if you want to."

"It'd be silly to get uptight about something if the headmaster knows all about it and thinks it's all right" said the third child, Sapphira Bones. "Is it tough having to be tigers?"

"We always have been" said Jayashree "So I guess we don't think about it. Uncle Assim says we're more like animagi than were-anything."

"What happens if you don't spend eight hours a day as tigers?" asked Phylloxera.

"We start getting ill" said Jayashree "And can't concentrate and have headaches; and they SAY, though I don't know of anyone it's happened to, that either you just fade away and die, or you turn into a tiger without having any say in it but you might never be human again; and I don't know if that's a tiger that can think or – or just a tiger, but I jolly well don't want it to happen to me."

"May we see?" asked Sapphira.

Mohini and Jayashree exchanged looks; and became tigers.

Three little girls gasped; tiger cubs they might be but half grown tiger cubs are still big.

Jayashree purred loudly, went forward and licked each of the others with her rough tongue.

"See? We're no threat" she said.

Zvetelina left three English girls tentatively stroking and petting two Indian tigers.

That was going to work out just fine.

Sextus Scarpin found himself in a dormitory with just two other new boys, most of the new Ravenclaws being girls. Philamon Graves and Leontius Bradley eyed him and each other up warily.

"I already made some friends here; some are in Slytherin and one in Gryffindor" said Sextus.

"I hid from some Ravenclaw people on the train" said Leontius "Are you a quidditch freak?"

Sextus shrugged.

"I enjoy a game; I follow the league but I don't get upset if I miss hearing a game on the wireless" he said. "Why?"

"Thank goodness! My cousin was chaser for Ravenclaw about ten years ago – in Harry Potter's time – and I'm not really interested in the game. I want to learn potioneering and I could care less about flying!"

"Potioneering? That's something I'm interested too" said Sextus.

"It does sound awfully interesting" said Philamon "Are we a sort of conglomerate of would be potioneers?"

"I guess so" said Sextus. "Of course, to be a serious potioneer one requires Arithmancy; and Herbology; and chanting doesn't go amiss either."

Philamon brightened.

"Really? I'm really looking forward to learning chanting; music's sort of rather important to me."

"I should think we ought to try to help each other out and get along then" said Leontius "Because one hears wild stories of bullies you know."

Sextus chuckled nastily.

"Like Crabbe and Zabini; I wonder how long it took the prefects to unjinx them?" the other two stared and he shrugged. "We felt like a bit of practise, so Kazrael Gan Tokar set herself up as bait and when the racists hove in sight we jinked them. Only two of them, but they ARE fifth years" he said "Snape has older siblings in the school; so have Gan Tokar and Malfoy-Tobak so they gave some of us the low down."

"Crumbs, er, Scarpin, you know the right people then!" said Leontius.

Sextus shrugged.

"If you're potioneers reckon Snape and her crew will like to know you; she's an intellectual snob like me. I'll introduce you."

That felt uncommonly sweet.

"She's in the house with Heath Barbary isn't she? I know him" said Philamon "His uncle and my cousin are friends."

"Yeah; he hangs with James Malfoy and Paris Bullivant" said Sextus, who had met them all in the game of 'Beat Voldemort'. "He's into chanting too; so's his big sister he said. Reckon he'd have dragged you in with us if he'd seen you."

"I don't know him that well; only to say hello to" said Philamon.

"Ah well; for good or ill, in a class together that will change" said Sextus with mild malice. He was just realising that both boys were related to musicians in the Weird Sisters, a favourite group of his mother's.

It did not mean necessarily that the younger relations were in any wise soppy; and indeed Heath was not.

Famous relatives or no, however, Sextus had a chance here to dominate both the other boys in his dormitory and be a leader figure to them; and that way they would not pick on him.

And it would require a delicate touch that made them loyal without resorting to the crudities of the likes of Crabbe and Zabini.

They were not marauders; Sextus could figure THAT out straight away.

Graves and Bradley wanted to be left alone to get on with their own lives; and Sextus was going to make sure that that was what they had. Then they would be in his debt; and that was always useful.

And they needed to be told about the MSHG to make them even more grateful and happy. So he told them, emphasising how it would help combat bullies as well as helping with their work.

Sextus Scarpin had been in two minds about giving in and joining in out of sheer perversity; but his complex little brain was alive to the opportunity of self protection by helping out two who had NOT been dragged into the in-set of Marauders and Malfoys; however rich Philamon Graves' family might be.

And the newest marauders had sworn loyalty to each other on the train; and he had been part of that oath. And he would do just about anything for Lilith; though that he did NOT let himself think about!

Consequently a goodly number of weevils turned up to the MSHG next morning; the three Ravenclaw boys and one girl – Fenella Crawford's older sister having firmly collected her – all the girls of Hufflepuff, two of them still stripy; four Gryffindors and seven Slytherin, lacking only Gareth Rookwood and Michelle Makepiece, the former because he had not been invited, the latter because such 'kids' games' were of no relevance to her ambitions.

Which refusal had relieved the mind of Lilith who had only made it in the spirit that she felt she ought to!

_Phylloxera is a species of greenfly. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The addition of extra lessons on the curriculum had been something of a nightmare; but Dumbledore was flexible. This was the first year a full introduction to metalwork was to be expected; and he planned to have Divination taught to half term to all first year pupils to pick up any talented – Madam Spikenard was QUITE confident that any talents would show up by then; and metalwork up to Yule. Over the holidays the students would pick which of the two they would follow and if Madam Spikenard was heard to sigh and murmur that she would have those out for the soft option she knew perfectly well that this was the case often enough amongst those choosing electives.

Chanting was to be a voluntary lesson on Saturdays, as Geomancy had once been; and next year perhaps all quidditch practice would be set for Saturdays as not all were interested in quidditch, so long as they had their compulsory flying lessons in the first year to make sure all were competent on a broom.

As all who were starting chanting – saving those who had learned from Lydia Snape – would be starting a fresh subject, the ages would be mixed, as Geomancy had been. And that had worked out well enough and was now an established subject!

And Geomancy was the first lesson of the day for the new weevils; the first full day of term being a Friday.

Lilith was very pleased with herself; she remembered not to call Sirius 'Padfoot' at all and remember that he was 'Professor Black'. Uncle Sirius had been to see them in the holidays to check she really did want to go to school early – WHAT a stupid question – and that it wasn't some daft-like idea Scales – daddy – had got into his head. She took being called her father's daughter with fond exasperation as a compliment.

There was nothing in the first Geomancy class Lilith had not long since known; but she sighed gently and did the work neatly, copying a Geomantic map of the surroundings of Hogwarts to cover Geomantic symbols. And when she was done she did Durmstrang from memory as well.

Padfoot pretended not to notice.

Comparative magic next would be more interesting; she had not had a chance to cover much of that. Hence Professor Khan found an eager and enthusiastic little girl in addition to his dutifully eager and enthusiastic niece and friend. And indeed an interested and curious group of Hufflepuff little girls.

In Hufflepuff, stripes were suddenly in fashion.

Lilith had intelligent questions to ask about fey shapeshifters like fox spirits; and asked if the hytersprites of East Anglia, fey who took the form of Sand Martins were real or just muggle tales.

"I do not know" said Professor Khan in his purry growly voice "I will endeavour, however, to find out. Widespread muggle legends generally have some basis in fact. Like the widespread tales in the eastern parts of England of Dires being seen frequently; that I am convinced is but a family of unregistered dog animagi."

That was interesting!

Lilith enjoyed herself; and was happy at break to be introduced to Sextus' dormitory mates; whom she promptly shortened to Phil and Leo. And finding that Phil knew Heath she abandoned them entirely to the stable triangle as Heath, Paris and James were nicknamed, to discuss abstruse theories with Sextus.

After break was Transfiguration; and Madam McGonagall gave her usual warning that those who mucked about were out. She permitted herself a smile at Lilith.

"Weel. Miss Snape, I wasnae expecting you for a couple of years; but I've nae doot ye've as much trrouble up your sleeve as your wee mother. I mind weel when she firrst brocht ye back frae St Mungo's and ye wouldnae stay in human forrm but kept wrriggling oot of your nappy! I'm minded tae warrn the rrest of the class that Miss Snape is no' sae usual in being an animagus so young; and I dinnae want ony of ye experimenting with human trransfiguration until I say ye may!"

Lilith beamed at her.

"Even using assimilative correlation by association to turn Zabini into a pig?" she asked.

"You are NO' supposed tae be talking aboot assimilative correlation by association or nomenclature at your age!" said McGonagall horrified "Ye dinnae need tae ken the theory until NEWT…. HOW much do ye ken?"

"You mean can I quote Gamp's laws and its exceptions and understand them?" asked Lilith cheerfully "And it's no good scowling, Shacklebolt, and forming all those thoughts about me trying to be teacher's pet because when you've a mum who writes for 'Transfiguration Today' it's kind of hard not to pick things up, especially as she argues out loud with other people's articles. And I'd be kind of a hypocrite to pretend I DIDN't know, wouldn't , Madam McGonagall?"

"Does she STILL argue out loud?" sighed McGonagall "Weel, Lilith, a' I can dae t'see if you're stretched enough is tae sit ye some past paper OWLs and find out what you do NOT know."

Lilith beamed.

That sounded a bit more interesting than turning matches into needles which was too easy to ever need a wand for. Indeed she had already turned her matchstick into a needle, summoned thread for it and a piece of cloth and had enchanted it to embroider her initials on the fabric. McGonagall heaved out a past paper for her and told her to get on with it and went round to supervise other, less talented matchsticks.

Three Gryffindor boys had no trouble; Hector Weasley who rumour said was like Percy had once been; Hubert McLaggan, who had been prepared to be impressed by himself at anyone who would listen and was MOST put out by Lilith; and Julian Bode, who was grinning openly at the outrage of McLaggan and Shacklebolt, herself having difficulty with the transfiguration, though not as much as Alcippe and Lycidice.

Kazrael managed the task rapidly; Michelle Makepiece, Gareth Rookwood and Heath Barbary making very heavy weather of it.

In Hufflepuff the Rakshasa proved no better at ordinary transfiguration than anyone else; the surprise star was Phylloxera Sprout whose needle appeared with aplomb.

Sextus could not resist threading his needle as well just because; which, it is to say, irritated two Ravenclaw girls, Rufina Scrimgeour and Jennifer Edgecombe who had been pleased with themselves until they saw his efforts!

Madam McGonagall looked over Sextus' shoulder, glanced at his face and said,

"Your no' anither Snape by any chance, Mr Scarpin?

"No Madam McGonagall; though I do admire Professor Snape a lot" said Sextus.

"Weel, weel! Try not to get too creative before ye're ready for it!" said McGonagall.

Lilith handed in her paper; and McGonagall groaned inwardly over the extent of the arithmantic additions over her answers.

Severus had been QUITE right she conceded; the child DID need school if only to stop her becoming a top class prig for being so academic.

She changed her mind when she read the last arithmantic equation in the section on _inanimatus conjuratus_ that by being read summoned a chocolate frog right out of the page.

It was ridiculously advanced; but it was at least a practical joke in keeping with the child's age!

As the afternoon was normally for quidditch practice, the first years had an afternoon off to explore; and it has to be said that the newest would-be marauders took every advantage to go and seek for secret passages!

Lilith also went to renew her acquaintance with Argus Filch and hugged both him and Mrs Norris – Argus was touched and Mrs Norris endured – and introduced him to her friends volunteering them to help.

Later Sextus said,

"Look, half-pint, I hope there was a point to volunteering us for messy and unpleasant jobs."

"'COURSE there is" said Lilith "Apart from the fact that Uncle Argus needs more appreciation than he gets, just 'cos he's a squib, we can get to go places that are normally out of bounds if we're helping him."

"'Sides" said Venus "My mum told me, always keep in with the cook and the caretaker and at least you'll always have a free meal and no extra hassles."

Lilith's leadership decision was no longer in doubt!

Especially when she showed them how to tickle the pear to get into the kitchen where she was fondly remembered by all the elves; and cake and pumpkin juice was the order of the day!

Wendy Manning did not feel as happy about her first day as the first years.

Her first lesson of the day was with Professor Lupin doing Defence Against the Dark Arts; something Wendy thought she knew a lot about.

The class were studying counter curses and the shield spell; and the level of curse the professor expected them to counter was a revelation.

Having discussed the shield spell – which, when he asked, more than half the class claimed to have knowledge of and experience in casting – and set them in pairs cursing each other and protecting themselves.

Wendy, paired with quiet Ian Pender Malfoy, found that quiet and gentle or not, he had a quite implacable will and considerable talent. Ian had learned a lot in the relatively brief time he had been of the wizarding world; and with a big brother like Draco to bring him on he had an eclectic range of curses to throw.

Ian absently cancelled all the spells on Wendy, releasing her from being a rubber ball farting uncontrollably and green with little tentacles.

"You have to try harder than that, Wendy" he said "Or anyone will be able to jinx you; and there's plenty that will."

"It's really hard" said Wendy "I never used the shield charm before."

"Then I guess it's up to the rest of us to bring you up to Hogwarts standard" said Ian seriously "At least, if you want to be an auror like your parents! I know not every family teaches it to babes before they even get to carry a wand; we're a bit unusual I guess, but it should be the first spell a kid learns from those who DO teach it early, on the way to school! It's far and away more useful to know than the bat bogey hex, even if not as amusing."

"I never even HEARD of the bat bogey hex" said Wendy.

"Oh it's when your bogeys crawl out of your nose and turn into aggressive bats… I won't do it on you, it's a bit nasty. It's also a good reason to blow your nose well before you EVER go on the train with bullies or enter into a duel with anyone."

After some more practice, Professor Lupin called a halt.

"Those of you who are still struggling with the shield charm should practise, practise, practise" he said "Harry Potter reckoned it one of the single most useful charms there is. Who can tell me what else is a good counter charm?"

Bella's hand was up.

"Miss Black?"

"_Expelliarmus_" said Bella.

"Excellent; yes" said Lupin "It is a fact that many witches and wizards never get the hang of casting spells without wands; to disarm them and deprive them of a wand at a critical time can save your life. It saved Harry's; for all Voldemort's vaunted power he had neglected wandless magic. Anything else?"

"Casting wandless and wordless _finite incantatem_ if you've been caught out" said Ian.

"Very good, Mr Malfoy; IF you can cast wandless and wordless. Remember only a handful of children your age can do so; and some never learn. Miss Manning?"

"Gee sir, is it really possible to cast spells without a wand? I – I've heard that the best can cast wordlessly, but I never heard of WANDLESS magic!"

"Well, Miss Manning, if you think about it, the way a child exhibits that he or she is magically active is in the uncontrolled manifestation of magical effects. And the instinctive defensive charm remains with us always. A wand is no more nor less than a focus for your will, increasing the effect of your words. For many people, a wand is necessary to get any effect at all which is why not all learn to cast wandlessly. Mr Malfoy; most people will be using specific anti-jinxes and we shall be concentrating on those over the term; but next lesson I have received permission to use the Imperious Curse so that each of you know what it feels like; and we shall practise until you can all throw it off. Mr Malfoy, Miss Black, we have ten minutes of lesson time remaining; perhaps you would care to give us a demonstration duel wandlessly and wordlessly. If you can actually keep your mouth shut for as long as ten minutes Bella" he teased.

"Oh SIR!" protested Bella.

The duel was for Wendy quite mindblowing; and not a little frightening. She had seen Bella and Jack play duelling on the train – which had been bad enough; but this was stupendous! Bella forced her way past Ian's guard several times and she could see the boy sweating with effort to throw the effects off.

Lupin blew a whistle just before the bell went.

"Good; you've both been working hard in the holidays" he said "Still a bit slapdash, Bella; you MUST learn to rely on subtlety not the brute force of your power."

Bella beamed at him.

Remus laughed.

Bella was like that.

Wendy was out of her depth as well after the break; she had elected to take History of Magic, having studied no Astronomy and not even being entirely sure what Geomancy involved; those being the other electives in this period. She had studied history of American magic; but the English of course specialised in their own country's history – and there was a good deal more of it – AND seemed to expect to handle an overview of world history too. Wendy had tried to read up in the text book but had never dreamed how far into it the rest were, nor how much extra incidental knowledge was taken as a matter of course.

It was fascinating, however, that the goblin rebellions were taught from the point of view that there was right and wrong on both sides; and Professor Lector reminded his pupils that each race had stereotypical perceptions of each other that had been all too often born out by the more hot headed on each side.

What impressed Wendy more than anything else was that the goblins in the class were as happy to refer to certain goblin leaders as stupid as they were the humans in the case. And this she planned to write to her parents!

Wendy was homesick already; she went to a day school in America and being away from her parents was hard. But she knew that she would do better in life if she continued at Hogwarts even after her parents returned to America.

Wendy sighed. She would have to write and tell her parents how advanced the work was that she was expected to do – assuming the other classes were as hard – and yet how much more she could learn here. If only the rest of the class did not already have, on the whole, special friends! Bella had her group, that kind of extended to Mafalda Prewett, who struck Wendy as something of a loner; the Malfoy twins were sufficient unto each other, the other goblin girl in Slytherin hung out with the goblin boy. And the girls in other houses seemed to be in groups of two or three, even if some of the groups looked more like a sycophancy than friendship – this was one of the Ravenclaw groups – that Wendy would want nothing to do with anyway.

The boy Jack Clements sat down beside her at lunch.

"ARE you planning on being an auror like your parents, Manning, or has that put you off?" he asked.

"I suppose I am…. I never really thought about doing anything else" said Wendy. "Are your parents aurors too?"

Jack gave a harsh mirthless laugh.

"My parents were muggleborn who were just happy to be part of the wizarding world; they were tortured to death by deatheaters and I was sent for – training. The kids here helped me find out that I want to fight evil like Voldemort and his minions; that's why I want to be an auror. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Wendy gasped.

"I – gee, Clements, I can't even begin to imagine!"

"No; nor can a lot of even English kids. 'Cept some of the goblins who've had stuff almost as bad happen to them. But if you want to work with me to pull your game up, you need to know why I can be a bit moody."

"I – will you truly help me catch up?"

He shrugged.

"Said so didn't I?"

"Then thanks! I guess I want to make sure we never have a Voldemort in America!"

Jack Clements nodded.

He was on good terms with all the boys in his year; but he was essentially a loner and felt that it was something Professor Snape would have expected him to do – pass on the helping hand he had himself received.

Jack missed Professor Snape. He had had the sardonic Potions master as house head for only one term, before Severus had needed to take over at Prince Peak; but it had made a lasting impression, for the kindness he had been shown on his first night at school. Which was why Jack intended to take chanting; because he knew it had been reintroduced by Professor Snape, who set great store by it. And so he told Wendy.

Wendy had been unsure whether to invest time into another subject when it looked as though the ones she was studying were to take all her time to catch up; but Jack said,

"Chanting does what nothing else can in breaking curses. It's the second most important background skill for any serious practitioner of magic. Only Arithmancy is more important!"

"I never learned any Arithmancy; but I never learned any comparative magic either so I plumped for Arithmancy because I'd heard of it; but I'm in a frightful muddle."

"Crumbs! Well it CAN be done; Madam Malfoy-Snape, they say, caught up four straight years reading the textbook on the train; but she is exceptional. It doesn't come easily to me; but I'll do all I can and so will everyone else I reckon. This year in Slytherin are about the best bunch of oiks ever."

Wendy was profoundly grateful! The book she had assumed the knowledge of basic tuition – that she had never had; and to have the chance to just study through the notes Jack had kept from his first three years would make a great deal of difference – especially the first elective year!

That afternoon she found out that at least she wasn't too far behind in herbology which was not a subject Jack did; that at least seemed one subject with which the two cultures were on a par!

And then it would be chanting.

Professor Queach looked rather nervously at the first real class he had ever taught; that seemed to be an entire horde of mixed age pupils.

Actually it was less of a horde than it looked; not everyone was prepared to give up their Saturday mornings, but those that were there looked mostly enthusiastic. Actually the only children he had were those mainly from the fourth and below; those studying chanting in the fifth, the OWL year, had negotiated an evening with him, and that had pleased Tony Queach well enough. He knew that those in the fifth who were planning to take the exam had already been serious about the skill and had been learning on their own; and would be in a different class. He had spoken with Lydia; and discovered that she also had taught sundry children now in the fourth and one child in the third; as a result of which the Belle Marauders and Sara Barbary would also be in the evening class. He had instead one boy from the fifth, the unpopular Darryl Zabini, who wanted to know the source of the power of such as the marauders; and the likes of Jack Clements who would have joined the classes with Lydia had he realised before the use of chanting to heal the French boy and the Hellibore boy in the Triwizard how powerful chanting could be; and for similar reasons, Richmaya Crouch-Jones joined him and Wendy because, as she said, she was such a klutz that chanting might help her to cast spells by taking it methodically rather than blowing everything on a charm gone wrong.

"Still won't keep you on a broom though" laughed Jack.

Richmaya poked him good naturedly.

Her disastrous exploits on a broom were well known; and she took no offence.

Ian Malfoy had also come along; he had been busy enough adjusting to the wizarding world to feel unable to take an interest hitherto; but Lucius had strongly suggested that the discipline was well suited to his iron will.

Most of the third had turned up; which is to say the luminaries of the Society Against Slavery and The Other Gang who were not prepared to go as far as Marauding but wanted to jinx bullies and help people out; and sundry other members of the MSHG who were hangers on of the two gangs without fully joining either.

It has to be said that Kevin Slugworthy dreamed of using chanting to produce larger and even more psychedelic slugs than his conventionally bred streelugs; though all the SAS had heard whispers of the eight-hour chant that had freed House Elves from the compulsion to self punish and had ambitions in the same sort of direction!

The second were represented by the nine members of the MSHG of that year, seven of whom hoped to Maraud (and the marauding group had already had a taster of chanting from Bella and co); plus Genevieve Harris who was musical and her two swains who were there for entirely the wrong reasons and were not musical. The first years were those of the MSHG that Lilith had more or less bullied into attending, Roxanne Shacklebolt who had NOT taken her cousin Kingsley's advice to join the MSHG in the shared opinion with Michelle Makepeace that is sounded childish and the Hufflepuff boys who were about to make Hufflepuff history by having an entire year of their house actually joining in the MSHG at the urgings of the girls.

Tony Queach had no illusions.

He was well aware that a large number of the class would drop out as soon as they found out how painful some of the voice exercises were until the diaphragm was used to being exercised; and still others because they had not listened to his initial explanation of how they could not undertake serious chanting without voice exercises and gave it up as boring because they had not used it to destroy dark wizards within the first half term.

Then they might get onto the serious stuff when those without dedication had dropped away.

Tony Queach made his introduction.

"The art of chanting almost died out and has been revived by Professor Snape; who taught, in his time, such illustrious pupils as Harry Potter and his friends in private classes, since they had something of a need to know rather esoteric magics. I will warn you now, not all people can manage successful chanting. This is nothing to do with how musical you may be; though musical talent helps. Chanting requires an innate feel for the arithmantic idiosyncrasies of the curse you hope to break or the enchantment you wish to install. It is a subtle skill that works by either adding or peeling away layers of enchantment slowly and methodically. As such, a skilled practitioner may be capable of producing effects as far above the understanding of the ordinary witch or wizard as magic itself is above the understanding of a muggle. Next year I hope that the subject will be introduced as a taster in the first two years and become subsequently an elective taken with knowledge of what is involved; meantime, thank you for giving up your free time. The first few lessons will be hard because as well as a little theory I shall be training you to breathe. You laugh; but believe me, those of you who have studied any music will know that without being trained to breathe, a singer cannot get easily through a song without the revolting noises Celestina Warbeck makes; and excess breaths in a chant can change the entire result of it. Yes, er, Miss Cornfoot, isn't it?"

Tony had still been at school when Venilia had been in the junior school; as she was of his own house, Ravenclaw he could remember her name!

"Sir, will we have to make noises like the Cacophonic Crow – er, Amos Leroy, I mean?" she asked.

There was some laughter.

"Mr Leroy has been taught to use his voice by similar exercises we shall be doing" said Tony "But I shall not expect anyone to want to sing opera, especially the more misguided efforts of Callinus* Strainz,"

There was laughter over the mention of the notorious Austrian writer of impenetrably clever opera.

"Oh good" said Venilia. "Nothing wrong with elegiac poetry that an enema to the writer won't cure."

Tony managed not to grin.

"We SHALL be studying poetry formally as part of the class" he said "And some of your homework will be at times to produce poems according to strict metre. That's how many legs each line has and whether is goes, for example de DUM de DUM deDUM de DUM or DEdum DEdum DEdum DEdum. Emphasis can be as important as the correct number of arithmantic syllables. I tell you this so that those who thought you were going to do a little gentle singing know what you might be letting yourselves in for. Chanting is not a solely practical class; it is deeply arithmantic. And by a number of faces, I suspect this class is going to be smaller next week. I WILL put in the time with anyone who wants to learn, even if they have any difficulty; but whether you succeed or not is ultimately down to your determination. If chanting were a matter of learning some poetry by rote, any idiot could do it. And those charms that CAN be used by rote are used in the enchanting class. Chanting is about will and intent. I have heard that those luminaries of the fourth known as the Belle Marauders managed to produce a higher than NEWT level spell by using an incantation from a muggle film" – here Charis Rawlins giggled – "Simply because their will was sufficient. Lilith Snape, what are you doing here? You already chant at least at OWL level."

"I can help my friends though" said Lilith looking inscrutable. "Professor Dumbledore isn't hardly likely to let me take OWLs that many years too early."

Tony laughed.

"All right; I designate you my classroom assistant" he said "And if anyone is going to get silly ideas about a weevil helping out, she IS the daughter of the same Professor Snape who reintroduced it and grew up with chants in the background."

"Is there ANYTHING Snape didn't grow up with in the background?" asked Roxanne Shacklebolt snidely.

"Not a lot, no" said Tony Queach "Severus Snape had a more exacting role than most in the fight against Voldemort; it is scarcely surprising that such has rebounded onto his family. Rather than pulling jealous faces, ah, Miss Shacklebolt, be pleased that you never had to watch your parents take the cruciatus curse. For all knowledge gained there is the price that is paid."

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger" said Lilith. "That's why Zabini is never going to be a chanter because he hasn't got the passion; he's just a sad little git who can't understand the realities of life."

"Thank you Miss Snape, that was uncalled for; seven repetitions of King Gama's song on my desk for Monday and do NOT let me see a forked tongue wagging at Mr Zabini" said Tony, who knew well that Lilith hated repetitions of Gilbert and Sullivan as punishment.

Lilith nodded.

"Sir" she said.

She had scored on Zabini; and that counted for more than getting punishment! Shacklebolt was such an idiot too; she should have been part of Lilith's own set with a cool cousin like Kingsley but she just had to be self sufficient and stuck up about having a famous auror as her cousin!

Oh well, there was no VICE in Shacklebolt; hopefully she'd settle down and be less of a pain when she found that sometimes help WAS required by anyone.

Lilith meanwhile went round half the class while Tony went round the other, having set them to breath, to make helpful criticisms and suggest improvements.

There was an irony that Shacklebolt, who was supposed to be one of the good guys, did NOT take Lilith's advice; and Zabini, who was a racist git, DID.

"'S a pity you've a bee in your bonnet about muggles and goblins, Zabini" said Lilith "You're almost as stubborn and clever as any of my family. I guess any of us would have liked you if you hadn't been so determinedly set in the mould of racist. And I can't see why you are; reckon someone's done a really good brainwash job on YOU!"

Zabini was too black of skin for a flush to show; but Lilith was enough snake even in human form to be marginally heat sensitive, especially if she picked up just enough of the change into snake to enhance it; and she knew he had flushed at her comments.

He would be a harder target that Sextus Scarpin to make happy; because she knew how to avoid Lily's mistakes over Sec.

Zabini might however be worth stealing, though Lilith.

He had, after all, only been teasing the muggleborn Dunbar Finch; objectively, Lilith thought, he could have been behaving worse.

She got a little sidetracked soon after that because Sirri had gone into labour; and Lilith was proud that she could help the birthing of her little sister; whose name, Sirri liked to tell everyone, was to be Charis. It was a nice name; it meant 'grace' Lilith knew and that was sort of appropriate for a delicate half elf. And she could feel baby Charis too, born of the bloodgroup and receiving love from everyone.

Perhaps Lilith would be her special big sister like Jade was Lilith's!

_Callinus was a writer of elegiac poetry_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Twelve fifth years would be taking the new OWL in metalwork; two of the lower sixth were taking it to NEWT, which was Lydia and Leo. Several of the upper sixth were taking metalwork OWL alongside their NEWTs so they had a sufficiency of time to prepare for it. Professor Jorbal had asked the OWL students to write out over the long holidays the precise nature of the two masterworks they intended to craft as their practical offering so he could make any modifications necessary. Gorbrin presented his concepts; a small useful knife that would grow to be a sword and leap to the hand on command for use against dark wizards; and a piece of jewellery enchanted with the shield charm. The presentation of an application of a practical aspect of the use of the coefficient of magical expansion was good for extra marks as well as the item being useful; and Gorbrin had worked hard to assess that he needed to use chanting to make an otherwise impossible amalgam of goblin steel and goblin silver to increase as much as he wanted it to do; and added the arithmantic notes to his sheet.

Jorbal had some idea of Arithmancy but very little of chanting; so he took the notes to Tony Queach.

"Crumbs, Jorbal, I don't know enough about your subject to make comment" said Tony "Ask Severus Snape by floo; he might know."

Which Jobal proceeded to do.

Severus had picked up some knowledge of goblin metal crafting from the father of one of his pupils, Irdl Breuer; and was arithmancer and chanter enough to follow Gorbrin's thoughts.

"Ambitious; but I don't see why it shouldn't work" said Severus "Train me up a teacher for my school, would you, Jorbal? It looks a fascinating study and I love finding out more. Who's this ambition youth?"

"Gorbrin Malfoy-Tobak" said Jorbal.

"THAT explains a lot" said Severus "The boy is a genius; no wonder he's combining subjects without a by-you-leave. He'll go far, that one; make anyone who's ever taught him more than proud of him!"

"That I believe" said Jorbal.

Madam McGonagall held an impromptu staff meeting.

"What are we to do with Lilith Snape?" she asked.

"Spank her and send her to bed with threats of lines?" suggested Sirius. "In what respect, Minerva?"

"The child is a'most nine yearrrs old; and she kens mair aboot trransfigurations than mony an ane o' ma NEWT students!" said Minerva "Puir wee thing, she hasnae had much of a life!"

"Nonsense" said Sirius "If you're thinking that Severus has crammed her, think again. She 'just happens' to eavesdrop an awful lot; and she's been listening to rather high magic since she was born. I expect she's even well aware what horcruces are."

"Surely not!" cried Minerva.

"If you want to put a few galleons on it…" said Sirius.

"Sirius!"

"Sorry, Minerva" Sirius was slightly chastened. "She loves learning for its own sake; like both her parents. She told me that the best bit about coming to Hogwarts would be different books as well as the chance to maraud. Don't for one instant think she's going to be a swot with no life; she's out for fun!"

"Aye; and it concerrns me that if she's bored we'll no' hae ony peace" said Minerva "And I was wonderring if we micht let her tak' an OWL or two a year tae try tae keep her focused on something."

Sirius chuckled.

"I can just see her working out how to take every subject there is" he said "And mind you, why not? She knows beyond what I'm teaching the first years in geomancy but I wager she's not ready for an OWL in that yet; she's barely touched on comparative magic, and she's certainly never done metalwork. Chanting I suspect, sorry Tony, that she surpasses our professor."

"I was rather coming to that conclusion" said Tony "But her knowledge of all poetry forms could be extended; I'll put her through a tough poetry and music course if you like."

"Excellent" approved Sirius. "Remus, I doubt you'll have much to teach her; I certainly felt her jinxing Odessa officers into balls after laughing dementors to death over Prince Peak last year."

"Her theory might not be all that's to be desired however" said Remus gently "Since Severus is weak on some of the foreign dark creatures; the disadvantage of the Blood Group – and indeed certain single members before they blooded – is that an excess of power and brilliance can lead to failing to pick up the subtleties of each individual dark creature. If you can blast anything up to a dementor with raw power, it makes one sloppy."

"I don't know; Jade's solution of snargaluff pods on Redcaps was quite entertaining and original" said Sirius.

"Jade is meticulous about theory" said Remus "Not that I'm saying that Severus and Krait are not; for they are. But if Severus has a weak point it's specifics of dark creatures. It is the dark arts that have always fascinated him more than the mere creatures spawned of dark magic or ritual. And Lilith is still, I think, quite raw. I don't think she's ready for an OWL in DADA even though she could walk into the exam and get an 'O'. But if I let her do that without teaching her everything I can, I'd have failed her. Lilith is a remarkable child; but she is still a child. And some things take adult understanding too. Let her sit Transfigurations and Potions by all means; and chanting too if you will; and then poke her at solving hypotheses that nobody has ever really understood, like is there really any arithmantic power in twenty-three factorial."

"Even Hermione Granger never got onto that!" said Septima Vector. "I looked at the equations she left for Minerva; excellent grasp of principles. Delicious chocolate frog too" she added "I didn't realise that sort of summoning was OWL level!"

"It isn't" said Minerva. "Yes; she had all the summoning correct, tasted perfect as well as looking right –and as I found out later the wee sumf had managed a permanency charm!. I'm not sure any school level witch could duplicate that."

"Severus warned me that she is more than capable of changing NEWT level equations to be perfectly accurate but entirely improper equations" sighed Septima "Maybe setting her onto the twenty three factorial problem may keep her quiet for a while. And if she DOES solve it she'll have a piece of Arithmancy that may prove useful to all mankind."

"I like the concept that it's theory she lacks" said Sirius "I wonder if she can second guess the Knight bus? I reckon not. Septima, you should be perhaps asking not what the answer is for Arithmancy questions but why they are what they are."

"I'll bear that in mind too" said Septima "Con, she's your greatniece, what's your take on her?"

"I have to say I scarcely know the child" said Constance Hardbroom "But if she can brew half so well as Mimi she's a small prodigy."

"She probably long since surpassed Mimi" said Sirius dryly. "When I was there she was lecturing Victor Crabbe on Golapott's third law; and as I understand she was conniving with Gorbrin over the holiday to enchant a flagstone to record the precise weight of some witch they took against so they could apply an extrapolation of Golapott worked backwards to know exactly how much purgative it would take to keep the woman out of circulation for any given time; they were drawing up charts. They were also factoring in different amounts of potion extender rather than increasing the amounts of potion."

"Well that's Gorbrin" said Connie "Very meticulous! Dear me, I wonder who?"

"Some female who had managed to disrespect all Gorbrin's mothers as I understand" said Sirius "I decided I was not going to find out any details."

"Probably wise" said Connie "Gorbrin is a genius; he deserved his 'O' grade in potions."

"And in Transfigurations" said Minerva "And could probably have taken the lot early."

"More fun for him not to have to" said Connie "He's not got the incentive Jade had, to be with her friends. He already is with his friends. If Lilith is as good as him I shall have my work cut out occupying her though."

"Set her to surpass her father in improving on various common potions then; or make her brew Felix" said Sirius lazily.

"I think I'll set her the stiffest theory paper I can devise before I see what to do with her" said Connie "Assuming she's not a disappointment to Severus on the practical front and actually can brew?"

"She's already helped brew Felix" said Sirius. "Dear me, you were quite right to raise the question, Minerva; what a tiresome thing it is to have a real out and out genius! If she was only a one-trick pony we'd be less in a stew but she seems to be all round talented!"

"She will happily engage in research if given the run of the library" rumbled Assim "And I think she will be bound by being forbidden certain books as yet. Even Severus cannot have taught her all the languages of the wizarding world yet; whether ancient runes or more modern languages. I shall tell her, if she is too advanced too early that Bella asked about other magical languages like Parseltongue and set her to find out what they are and to learn them. That may keep her busy."

"That, Assim mate, is sheer genius" said Sirius "ARE there other languages?"

Assim shrugged.

"We tigers have a very formal ritualised one almost never used; and I believe there is a tongue of birds. She asked about fey that shapeshift to be birds; perhaps that is significant."

There was a collective sigh of relief; research that was harmless to set Lilith towards if she became troublesome.

Lilith had no intention of becoming troublesome; not more than any Marauder, anyway.

She and her chosen satellites quickly found the secret door out of Argus Filch's cleaning cupboard that led to the roof and then they were well away.

"We NEED more geomancy" she complained "I don't think I know enough to draw a marauders' map!"

Once that was explained, interest in Geomancy soared.

"what if the oldest group don't like us as marauders?" asked Sextus "Or only like the ones of you that are part of their family – Snapes and Malfoys and such?"

"Scarp, you're as pessimistic as me" said Venus.

"He's also being silly" said Lilith, affectionately taking Sextus' arm "Because the group is accepted as a group. It kinda tends to go in families because the families of Marauders know to want to Maraud. Just think! In about ten years time there's going to be the first batch of third generation Marauders – Harry's kids, and Jade's baby. There'll still be Marauders when the castle is twice as old as it is now!"

Kazrael giggled.

"Unless we've all rampaged about the secret passages so much the castle has fallen down!" she said.

"Huh, Malfoys'll never allow that; not with our ancestor being the house ghost" said Gennar.

Monica Wintringham turned up on the Sunday evening, her mother out of danger from her doxy allergic reaction and expressing shy gratitude for the youth who had suggested a bezoar, that she asked Professor Dumbledore to pass on. The girl was sorted into Ravenclaw where Fenella Croawford rescued her from a barrage of questions from the nosy Sonia Goshawk and the opinion of Rufina Scrimgeour that missing any schooling was the sign of a weak mind.

"You've GOT a mind to recognise a weakness in, Scrimgeour?" said Sextus, unable to resist.

Rufina flounced; Sextus and his sarcastic tongue scared her rather.

"Cheers Scarpin" said Fenella "Nicest set down I heard in a while."

"The benefits of my undoubtedly well honed vocabulary and superior intellect are ever at the disposal of a lady" said Sextus, who had heard enough about Severus Snape from those who knew him to want to emulate him in snidely rounded periods and urbanity.

The weekend was swiftly over and lessons resumed; and Lilith was NOT about to show off and get into trouble in flying lessons and get banned! She followed her instructions to the letter; and if it was with a degree of panache not shown by every child, well Snapes were known good broomsters, and Gorbrin watching her was wondering if he should cede his place as house seeker to her. Lilith beamed and asked him if she might try out for keeper.

"Keepers are usually lanky" said Gorbin.

"Yes; but I'm nippy instead" said Lilith "And I can broomsurf. Paris is good, isn't he? You lost Rosier didn't you so you need him as beater, don't you?"

"Interfering Snapeling" said Gorbrin laughing "Yes I do need a beater; I was considering using Pip Burke and moving to chaser myself and try you as Seeker."

"I don't think I'd be as good at seeker" said Lilith seriously "You have to be all hot and fiery to be a good seeker; and I'm all cold and snaky. I think I'd be a better keeper."

"All right; we'll see how you do at trials next Saturday" said Gorbrin.

After flying came Divination; Lilith was secretly looking forward more to metalcrafting. Divination was something she had never been tempted to try, being, as she thought, a bit hit and miss.

She did no better than anyone else divining for chocolate galleons; and resisted temptation to use the summoning charm to find them instead.

She was impressed by Madam Spikenard who said dryly,

"Remember when you're poking into books nobody has expressly forbidden you to read, that sometimes grown-ups are fallible in what they recall to ban; and also that your father is not the only person to make notes in margins."

After break, Lilith was firmly given an examination paper by Madam Vector and told to get on with it. Lilith enjoyed herself, giggling over the final equation on the sheet that was the engulfing equation of Gringott's vaults that she had changed for the Prince Peak students when Hermione set them classwork.

Madam Vector watched how quickly and smoothly Lilith worked on the truncated NEWT exam – she had picked a representative series of questions – and decided that the twenty-three factorial hypothesis was the only thing that WOULD keep the child occupied!

After Arithmancy was enchanting; and if it was not new to Lilith, at least she felt she was learning from Professor Dweemor since Severus and Krait rarely bothered with enchanting items, tending to add a quickly chanted effect on the fly if they needed any such.

After lunch they found themselves in herbology; and the differences between flitterbloom and devil's snare were well known to Lilith, though she listened politely.

Phylloxera might be expected to shine in this class, bearing in mind her ancestry; but if Madam Sprout did not exactly groan on beholding her great niece in the greenhouse it was probably because she had got all her groaning out of the way on the first night.

"I have a brown thumb you see" said Phylloxera to her friends "Some people have green fingers; I'm the opposite. My plants die; get eaten by slugs and bugs; catch diseases and so on. Great Aunt Pomona finds it very trying."

Lilith, eavesdropping shamelessly, wondered how her father would feel if any of his children did not like potioneering. Well, some of the Prince cousins did not do well in potions; so it had to happen in any family.

And speaking of Potions, the last class was indeed double potions with Madam Hardbroom. Lilith beamed at her.

She found herself set another theory paper with simple questions embedded in complex ones. Connie wanted to know if Lilith had missed any simple knowledge in pursuit of useful or high level potions!

Lilith used too much Arithmancy as usual but enjoyed herself.

Connie nodded.

As each child brewed the set potions, Lilith should experiment with the said potion and see if she could improve on it. That ought to keep her occupied too!

Tea time was slightly interrupted when Hazel Spikenard of the second rose to her feet at the Gryffindor table and cried out in an unnaturally harsh voice,

"Behold, the Jade Wolf shall overcome the Golden Son and there will be change inexorable; for the Golden Son shall trust too well and not wisely!"

Lilith, Lydia and Mimi gasped.

That had meaning for them.

"Why – that was much what Annis Shipton said in her OWL!" cried Madam Spikenard shocked into louder speech than she had intended.

The Bloodgroup linked smoothly – leaving Jade deliberately out of the link – and the girls at Hogwarts passed THAT on; and that to all appearances it was a true vision despite the mutterings of Hazel's older twin sisters whose talent at divination was much more reproducible if much less spectacular than their sister the seer. Who was packed off to the sick bay forthwith.

"She's going to be unbearable" sighed Rosemary.

"Yeah; and time something was done about her" muttered Lavender irritably.

Both had a seventy eight to eighty per cent success rate with simple predictions; Gorbrin intended consulting them over good days to set fixtures using weather prediction, and the MSHG had used the predictions of the national Quidditch league from Rosemary – Lavender not having joined – to clean out a rather dodgy bookie with an accumulator as revenge for his sharp practices to the father of one of their fellows. Their abilities were remarkable by anybody's standards but their parents were quite mesmerised by the fact that Hazel had trances; and the younger girl was rather spoilt in consequence.

And Lavender was starting to formulate something of a plan.

"Perhaps we could extract some meaning from her vision by utilising chanting to help the best diviners!" cried Genevieve Harris, in Hazel's class and also a Gryffindor. He voice was clear and carrying and it was obviously meant to be swank about those who took chanting.

Mei Chang frowned.

Ross had warned her that Genevieve had troublesome followers; it looked as though the second were about to be trouble this year. Mei gave Lydia and Polly a quick warning pulse; and Lydia returned an impatient one that meant she was already on it.

"Oh there's no need of that, Genevieve" Lydia Snape used a _sonorous_ spell to carry her voice down the Gryffindor table to the younger girl "After all, those who know anything are QUITE well aware what it refers to; and those who do NOT know have no business at all sticking their juvenile and grubby little noses in on it."

Genevieve was a little girl who liked to have attention; but not through being on the receiving end of a rebuke that made her sound like a snotty nosed brat of about six.

"ARE we aware?" murmured Freya Tuthill.

"Well I am anyway" said Lydia, who could be quite as inscrutable as Lilith when she put her mind to it. Freya was all right; but she could be officious enough that Lydia did NOT mind the occasional snub to Freya's superiority.

"Marauder thing?" asked Ross who was less clever but more perspicacious than his sister.

"Even so" said Lydia "And NOT my place to blab about it; as it's out of my league."

That shut even Freya up.

Lydia was imperturbably out of the league – as were all the marauders – of just about anyone else in school and the Second Blood Group acknowledged it.

Lilith enjoyed the next day too, having never studied astronomy at all; so that was all new. Of course she knew the names of a lot more stars and constellations than most of the class but she put THAT down to being vaguely related to the Black family who carried their naming conventions further than most. History she had absorbed but it was interesting to hear the take on it delivered by impartial Professor Lector; Percy Weasley was inclined to be snide about the ministry, at least in informal discussions about magic, and Senagra saw the goblin's side and mummy muttered about the trouble with history was that as it was written by the winners the winners never had the chance to win the peace because they failed to learn lessons because they stuck their fingers up their arse and their heads in the sand. It was to be admitted that mummy had not known that Lilith had been eavesdropping on that particularly frank and coarse comment.

Herbology was quite fun too again because practise with practical things was always valuable and Lilith quite enjoyed gardening and making the environment just right for the plants to bring out their best potioneering properties and had no idea that Madam Sprout had raised an eyebrow over her careful measurement of dragon dung to add to the dittany she was re-potting to increase its curative powers. It was a NEWT level piece of knowledge that Lilith did because daddy and mummy did.

Lilith was, after all, a potioneer's gardener,

She was also a potioneer's carer of magical beasts; but Hagrid was a dear friend so she behaved beautifully, confining herself to twinkling at Hagrid.

There was a brief bit of excitement when one of the blast-ended Pekes got too close to Philamon Graves who started sneezing uncontrollably, frightening the Peke into letting fly with his noxious and fiery effluvium, which caused brief pandemonium.

Lilith ignored the Peke and started chanting over Philamon to restore a balance of his histamine levels, as she kindly – and to wizarding children incomprehensibly – explained.

Philamon thought she was wonderful and was even more determined to study chanting if it could cure his allergy to dogs!

Hagrid was much impressed too and said so, which did not endear Lilith any the more to the likes of Shacklebolt and McLaggan; not that Lilith cared.

And when McLaggan started on about it being improper for children to do such outrageous things as cast spells he didn't understand and doubted Snape did either when there was a teacher present, Lilith ran a forked tongue out at him and Jayashree assumed stripy fur and growled at him.

"Heh, I wondered if we might steal you to maraud" said Lilith cryptically to Jayashree.

"Lumme, not another girl? Why couldn't Stripes have had nephews?" complained Gennar. Lilith poked him.

"He has no manners; just like a Malfoy" she said.

"You're half Malfoy" said Sextus.

"Never said I did have manners; only that he don't" said Lilith.

The lunch bell rescued Hagrid from any more.

After lunch Professor Flitwick introduced the class to locomotor charms and Lilith got so sick of how difficult people seemed to find making a pineapple dance across the desk she went and broke it down into very simple language.

The Hufflepuffs and Lycidice were very grateful; of the Huffflepuffs only Mohini had got it first time. So too was Philamon who was starting to feel it was not his day when he had no joy from his pineapple! Hubert McLaggan who had expected better results than he got was NOT grateful for helpful – and indeed practical – advice and turned on Lilith with a stinging hex.

Lilith let her shield charm absorb it.

"That was rude" she said. "If you'd done that to someone who can't get a shield up you might have hurt them. Are you a bully?"

"I'm just pissed off with you being a show-off!" shouted McLaggan.

"Oh like you weren't boasting in our common room how you were going to be the best in the school?" said Venus.

"Really, sometimes I wonder if I'm teaching in secondary school or whether I appear to have wandered by mistake into a kindergarten" said Flitwick mildly. "Miss Snape, I fear your well-meaning efforts are not always appreciated; and sometimes it is better to let people make, and learn from their own mistakes. Mr Mclaggan if you ever try to jinx a pupil in my class again you will be banned and the matter reported to the head. You were rude too; please apologise to Miss Snape; and Miss Nightingale, your comment may be justified but as you have still a rather wobbly pineapple I suggest you attend to that not the affairs of others."

"I shan't apologise sir, she's such a….."

"Mr McLaggan you WILL!" Flitwick's voice was squeaky; but it was filled with charisma.

McLaggan fumed; but dared not ask 'or what'. He said sulkily,

"I apologise if I said anything out of line or uncalled for."

"Excellent" said Flitwick. "Very well; your homework will be to read up on the levitating charm, _wingardium leviosa_ with a view to practising it next time; tomorrow in fact.

Remus Lupin regarded his class.

"You have had an introduction to magical beasts; judging by subdued titters someone had a closer encounter with a slightly problematic one than was desirable. But who can tell me the difference between a dark creature and a dangerous magical creature?"

Lilith's hand was up. So was Scarpin's.

"I shan't ask you, Miss Snape; as your father has taught DADA I should hope you DO know" he said. "Mr, ah, Scarpin?"

"Intent sir; dangerous creatures kill you because it is their nature to eat you or whatever; dark creatures take delight in hurting" said Sextus.

"Quite right; succinctly put" said Remus. "Who can name a dark creature?"

"Kappa!" said Lilith as the rest looked blank.

"Unusual choice" said Remus.

"Not really sir; David Fraser had kappa in the triwizard and I always wondered why you could bribe them with cucumber and I know dad does too 'cos he asked mum and I overheard her saying that it's because they're not big enough to please their women and they need them to bribe them. I don't really understand that though" said Lilith.

Remus bit the sides of his mouth. HOW like Krait! And HOW like Lilith to just overhear!

"Your mother was joking" he said "It's a grown up joke; I wouldn't worry about it."

"Oh, about sex is it?" said Lilith "Grown ups are SO silly."

Remus decided to ignore that.

Lilith obviously looked up any dark creature anyone connected to her had dealings with; it was a start and they could build on that.

"Very well" he said "Dark Creatures have dark intent; in the same way, those who employ the dark arts do so with intent to cause harm. The Dark Arts are many; and nasty imaginations are as good at thinking up new and nastier ways to hurt even as that near dark creature the teenage child is good at thinking up more repellent corridor curses. Yes, I am joking; but corridor curses can be expressions of bullying and bullies have intent to harm and come close to being in that respect dark creatures. Most people get over it. The ones that do not become dark wizards. This class aims to teach you how to counter curses and recognise, and maybe even fight, dark creatures; how to recognise dark arts and curses and for the best among you, to counter them. We shall devote much of this term to an introduction to dark creatures and a few beginning protective spells."

Lilith did not think his definition of the dark arts was as good as her dad's; but then he had to simplify for little kids.

Lilith conveniently forgot she was two to three years younger than the rest of the children in her class.

That evening her set finished their homework early, collected Jayashree and went marauding; which involved making apple pie beds for all the senior marauders.

Venus must do Polly and Lydia's; Gennar and Kasrael were to do Leo's and Mortimer's; and as thee were three Ravenclaws, Lilith marched Sextus and Jayashree firmly up to Ravenclaw tower and knocked.

"If hope springs eternal where does ambition go?" asked the eagle knocker.

"Ambition soars like the eagle" said Lilith; and as the door praised the answer and opened she added "But very few snakes get eaten by dragons on the wing."

"DO you mind not being snide about my house rituals? And for that matter, it was my job to get into my house!" said Sextus.

"I just wanted to see if it asked as silly questions as Bella says it does" said Lilith. "She's right; VERY silly. Any idjit could get into Ravenclaw!"

"Several Idjits just did" grumbled Scarpin.

Lilith grinned at him.

"You are a pain, half-pint" he said.

"So other people keep telling me" said Lilith. "I say, shall I fit a self-exploding bedspread for Mei Chang too? I brought one just in case."

"I guess the Head Girl is fair game" said Sextus. "And it's not like it's an exam term."

"Oh good, I'm glad you feel the same way about that as me" said Lilith. "Catch you in a few minutes."

The Mad Marauders were not used to being caught at tricks; Bella's group had done a nice job to get noticed with singing woodlice but Nathan's group had been so far more circumspect.

As Mei's bed also had a feather growing curse, that Lilith had chanted on to it as an afterthought it was a little more of an effort than just apple pie beds; and the mad Marauders discussed whether they should retaliate; or treat the affair of babes of weevils being so contumelious with disdain.

"After all we shan't confirm them yet – not unless they come up with something more entertaining" said Mad.

Mei agreed; and they decided to act as though nothing had happened.

Which was all very disappointing; but Lilith had felt the blood throb that indicated seven people being slightly flustered, and was satisfied.

The Mad Marauders were also discussing Marauder business; after all, it was time for another Marauding portrait and they had a mind to present Sirius as a Yule gift with a portrait of his brother Regulus who had died to oppose Voldemort covertly; one of the three people who broke the dark lord's control. Regulus deserved to be an honorary Marauder; and they had engaged Erica's help to paint him aided by Kreacher's aid with the Pensieve. Kreacher had just about cried in gratitude that he would be able to tell Master Regulus that he had finally fulfilled his last order!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Lilith beamed at Madam McGonagall first thing on Wednesday morning.

"Miss Snape; I hae got a wee task for ye" said Minerva "In this box I've a few hedgehogs that havenae been quite corrrectly returned tae themselves; I'd be awfu' obliged if ye'd sorrt them oot. They a' hae different problems, ye'll hae tae dae them one at a time, no' collectively."

Lilith beamed.

"Delighted, Madam McGonagall" she said "It's sheer carelessness not to return things perfectly to their proper state; it should be utterly easy because you should be concentrating on the word 'hedgehog' which invokes naming magic too, in a far more profound and basic way than assimilative correlation by nomenclature."

"I hear your mother in that wee diatribe" said McGonagall "Aye, weel, maybe I should include a bit of naming theory in retuning these puir creatures tae their natural state. And when the rest of ye, this morning, turn your beetles intae buttons, when ye turrn them back ye may recall that their name 'beetle' will help ye tae do so!"

Lilith turned her attention to the box of hedgehogs, tutting gently to herself about the laxity of fourth years. Several hedgehogs sported pins not spines, one had a patchwork back under its spines and another one was a velvet pin cushion which blinked unhappily from its little face that was the only thing hedgehog about it.

Lilith soothed the little creatures and restored them to a proper state making sure to check out too those ones that appeared to be normal and restoring them to full health.

One of the hedgehogs had been Wendy Manning's; and she had performed a fairly creditable transformation save that the returned hedgehog still had spines coloured like the Stars and Stripes. It would not have affected the creature in any way, but Lilith put the colour right in any case.

The class were busy working on turning beetles into buttons; and bearing in mind an accident Lilith had heard about that had happened to Gobrin's girlfriend she stealthily released a spell that turned all of McLaggan's buttons into beetles because it would be funny. She did NOT use her wand; and with luck McLaggan would put it down to overzealousness and sheer accident.

He yelled in consternation and Lilith worked on not giggling.

Madam McGonagall restored the buttons ad sewed them back with a flick of her wand.

"Never mind, Mr McLaggan, these things happen when ye're concentrating harrd" she said.

"I don't know how that happened, Madam McGonagall!" said McLaggan, much vexed.

"Weel, weel, ye may learn from it" said Minerva kindly. She turned to Lilith.

Lilith, feeling that to divert suspicion she should be doing something else unsanctioned, was thoughtfully cycling one of the hedgehogs through echidna, porcupine and armadillo – being a fan of the 'Just So Stories' – with the desk growing appropriate vegetation for the geographical region of each creature.

She beamed at Madam McGonagall who raised an eyebrow.

"I do not recall telling ye to be creative" said that worthy, marvelling at the sophistication of the turning of the top of the desk into terrain.

"I'm sorry if it was wrong, Madam McGonagall" said Lilith innocently "Only I'd finished and it seemed a waste of time not to practise."

"Oh quite so!" said Minerva hastily. "Lilith, the faculty thinks that ye might like tae concentrate on the theory of transfiguration tae take the OWL this year, as it's such a parrt of your life as an animagus; but ye'll have tae dae the reading and the essays I set withoot class support. D'ye think ye'd be up for it?"

Lilith beamed.

"Oh YES Madam McGonagall!" she said "Then I can do the NEWT next year and try something new in the electives!"

"Ah….quite" said Minerva. "Verra weel; ye may use ma text book; and write me eight inches on switching spells."

Lilith beamed.

"Oh, that's what I really NEED" she said "Because I've never written essays before; it's all very well to know stuff, but if you don't know how to tell people you know it and with felicity of style, there's no point. I AM glad I've come to school!"

"Weel, I'm verra glad" said Minerva, reflecting that either she was getting old or else Krait's daughter was more exhausting even than her mother.

Still if the child wanted to write essays, that could be arranged.

After break was the other lesson Lilith was really looking forward to; as was Sextus.

"Good morning children" said Madam Hardbroom " We brewed a potion at my direction last lesson so I could see which of you might need more help with basic techniques; today we start actually studying what Potioneering is about. Potioneering is perhaps the subtlest of the lessons you will ever study; the effects of a skilfully brewed potion may be more profound than any mere spell; and potentially more dangerous. I will start with a warning; NO-ONE is to be in the potions dungeon without supervision; and the stores should NEVER be touched without specific instructions. Some of the ingredients are potentially deadly from contact with air; and that includes careless behaviour leading to broken jars, yes, Mr McLaggan?"

"Madam Hardbroom, should not such things be kept in jars that have been made unbreakable?"

"If handled properly, Mr McLaggan, it should not matter; and such things are not in here to be handled by any but the most advanced students. If other pupils are not rifling through stores for their own devious purposes they won't be touching the more dangerous jars next to the things that naughty and unscrupulous pupils tend to steal – and it is stealing – for their own nefarious purposes. And if I keep things in unbreakable jars it is but an incentive for laxity. Care and caution are infinitely preferable to an excess of safety charms. Miss Snape if you release the spell you are formulating in your mind you WILL be in detention."

Lilith grinned unrepentantly and did not release the fluorescent fart jinx on McLaggan, who glared at her.

Madam Hardbroom went on,

"Open your text books at page ten; the boil-curing potion. We shall be brewing that today, and you will also learn the correct way to document a potion as you brew it; this is a discipline that will be of use to you should you invent your own potions; and also to record everything you do in examinations, since it is possible to gain a few marks from well documented intent even if you manage to blow up your cauldron. Miss Snape, have you covered potion documentation helping your father?"

"Yes, Madam Hardbroom" said Lilith.

"Good; as it seems likely that you have covered most basic potions your task in producing every potion the rest of the class will be brewing will be to make experimental efforts as well as making the basic potion, to compare and contrast efficacy. Document everything carefully; your father made some excellent additions to a number of potions in his time at Hogwarts by careful application of Arithmancy and extra ingredients; let us see if you are as inventive."

Lilith grinned happily.

Potions was going to be even more fun than she realised.

Sextus mouthed,

'Lucky you!' to her.

She would of course share her notes with him!

It was fun examining the ingredients anew and considering if anything could be added. The only thing she could think of was a complex little addition of stirs that would make the potion efficacious against cursed boils too, by including what was effectively a curse breaker in it; but as she wrote in her notes this was only effective if the stirrer knew they were breaking a curse and concentrated on the same.

"Why does Snape get special treatment, Madam Hardbroom?" asked Gareth Rookwood.

"Because we of the faculty don't feel it reasonable that a little girl of not yet nine years old should have to cope with the mental pressures of being in a NEWT class environment where her abilities belong" said Connie calmly. "Miss Snape has exceptional abilities but she deserves the chance of a childhood as well, and so she joins a class of first years to get the whole school experience. You should not feel, any of you, bad that Lilith happens to be a genius. She is the exceptional child of exceptional parents and that is no reflection on anyone else. She is also a little girl and as much likely to end up gutting horned toads as anyone else if she doesn't stop gurning."

"Gosh Madam Hardbroom, you have eyes in the back of your head!" said Lilith, impressed.

Connie suppressed a smile that her guess had been correct.

"I was only wondering; it wasn't jealousy" said Rookwood "I wondered if anyone was trying to impress her parents or something for some reason."

"The only person trying to impress Miss Snape's parents – and not in a good way – is Prince Gerhardt of Odessa and somehow I don't think he's succeeding" said Connie. "WATCH that potion boy."

"Oh THAT Snape!" said Rookwood, dutifully adding the correct stir to his potion. "Is it true, Madam Hardbroom, that Odessa want to take over Hogwarts as well as the other school?"

"Yes it is I'm afraid" said Connie "And Odessa are quite as bad as the Deatheaters; worse in a way in that some who support them truly believe the sad line that whatever is done is done 'for the greater good'. Now get on with the potion children and stop chattering."

Rookwood fell in with Lilith as they went to lunch. Scarpin scowled at him.

"Look here, Snape, does your dad fight these Odessa types?" he asked

"Yes he does" said Lilith "You're from a deatheater family; why do you care? Your dad's a git too he barged me in Diagon Alley."

"Well he was feeling flustered; you got revenge and some if that was you that made his bottom float" said Rookwood. "Our cousin was a deatheater; and I think the deatheaters were pretty stupid, 'cos they kinda worshipped Voldemort, didn't they?"

"They kissed the hem of his robe" said Lilith "And let him legilimens them every way to Sunday; 'cept that the ones that were Dumbledore's men were better at Occlumensy than he realised."

"What? I don't understand" said Rookwood.

Lilith refrained from rolling her eyes because Scarpin was looking puzzled too.

"Legilimensy is the art of searching thoughts; it's not really mind reading because that's a sloppy sort of term suggesting like reading a biography. It's more pictures" she explained "Occlumensy is the art of blocking and sidetracking the searching. Dad was undercover for years. He considered your cousin the most subtle of the deatheaters – apart from Lucius of course, who was also working against Voldemort. Voldemort was a nasty little git who used people; his grand villainy was nothing more than raw power and that's why I want more out of life than just being able to use the raw power I inherited from him. Oh didn't you know? My mum, who worked against him beside dad when SHE was at school, is the daughter of a Malfoy girl he used and abandoned. So I'm the git's granddaughter; and descended from Salazar Slytherin because of that and that's just the way it is. It's no secret."

"Are Odessa really like the deatheaters?"

"Nearly; but Gerhardt's a bit cleverer about people than Voldemort. Voldemort was so snaky he couldn't really understand emotion at all, except lust for power. Which is bizarre, 'cos he never was a snake animagus and I am. Gerhardt knows how to do hearts and minds, but it all falls apart when things go wrong and he shows his real colours by going into a rage and slinging the cruciatus curse; dad's spied on him you see. And he plays on the fears Germanic people have of goblins, 'cos there are lots of goblins in middle Europe. Are you racist?"

Rookwood shrugged.

"I don't think so. I don't like most people much because they cast up my cousin at me like you did, only at least you came out and said it out loud instead of making implied comments and – and looking in that way. It's why dad acts arrogant you know; to let people know he's not intimidated."

"Gosh! I hadn't thought of that; not that I knew who he was anyway when he barged me, only that he was a rude grown up" said Lilith. "I s'pose he took me as a Weasley because of the hair; and Arthur can be a teensy bit sanctimonious at times. Well, if you'e not racist and you just want people to shut up about your cousin, you ought to join the MSHG and learn to fight creeps like Odessa and then you'll be in a position to show those that sneer that you're no deatheater. We have a lot of fun too" she added "and if some people think it's childish, they're just stupid. Makepeace has a chip on her shoulder the size of the castle because of what happened to her mum, and she's determined to be silly about it instead of being sensible like her siblings."

"What did happen to her mum?"

"Oh this git who owned a male elf figured he could make money if he kidnapped muggles and had them got pregnant and could sell half elves" said Lilith "And Cousin Draco picked him up when he was selling the first, who's Roger Blake of the third and he had to pay a whole load of compensation to the three muggle women as well as going to Azhkaban. But Makepiece is too convinced that she doesn't need friends to be likeable. She'll either come round or end up an acidulated old dear."

"So it isn't that she's half elf that you don't like her?" asked Rookwood.

"I've got adopted siblings and half siblings that are elves and half elves" said Lilith "My second mum has a human animagus form so she can conveniently be dad's mistress. Doesn't trouble me, 'cept with my aunt Rose who was fathered by my git of a grandfather on an elf just because he wanted it and she was loaned to him; and it didn't trouble him if she conceived or not, or that it would have killed her if people hadn't taken her to St Mungo's. He was a real slut, you know!"

Rookwood roared with laughter.

"Well I guess that just about disposes of the mystique of Voldemort – that he was a slut!" he said.

Lilith, being Lilith, wrote straight after dinner to Mr Rookwood. Her letter read,

"Dear Mr Rookwood, I apologise for dropping the dirigible fart curse on you because Gareth said you're just flustered because people like Arthur Weasley can get pi about you being unfortunate enough to have had a cousin who was a deatheater and I expect you thought I was a Weasley because of the red hair, like I just assumed you were one more rude parent that's only concerned for their little treasure and thinks it's okay to be rude to other kids. As I'm Voldemort's granddaughter I know all about having rather unsatisfactory relatives to have to live down as though those of us who didn't ask to be their relatives ought to. You really need to be tolerant of Arthur because he's had to work with some very unsatisfactory slime in the ministry that kind of left him a bit suspicious of people especially the ones that take petty to new depths. Yours sincerely, Lilith Snape."

Mr Rookwood did not have much of a sense of humour but at least he had enough of one to find the description of Voldemort as a 'rather unsatisfactory relative' enough to chuckle over rather than feeling angry. And Snape was reckoned a big man by those in power; it would do Gareth no harm to have made friends with his daughter, an entrée too to the Malfoys. He had warned Gareth that he was likely to have a lonely time at school and told him not to show if he minded; that had led, of course initially to Lilith putting the boy down as 'stuck up'. Gareth might open out a bit now perhaps!

Gareth intended to. He decided he did not much like snide tongued Sextus Scarpin and wondered that Snape should make a friend of the boy; but he was in a house with Snape and some of her other friends as Scarpin was not. and he could join this MSHG and see how it went.

Gareth had quite as much snide and sarcastic armour as Sextus, if not quite as many brains to employ with it.

Lilith was rather tardy as a result of writing a letter and running up to the owl loft with it; and when the staircases moved about she knew she was going to be late for Charms class if she went all the way down and all the way up.

"Oh bother" said Lilith, and leaped over the banisters, flying lightly down to the staircase she needed. Sextus had been waiting for her.

"Isn't that supposed to be impossible, half-pint?" he drawled sardonically.

"No-one's watching, so who cares?" said Lilith "C'mon, we'll be late!"

She was wrong; Professor Dumbledore had seen the incident and he raised an eyebrow. That the blood group had learned to fly from Voldemort he knew; but not that Lilith could do so at her age.

It did however, especially in light of her comments to her friend, reveal much about the child; that she was NOT a show off for the sake of it. Lilith had so much talent; and her mother HAD spent time as a basilisk with the child in her womb; and she WAS Voldemort's granddaughter. The headmaster had been pleased to accept her early to school in order to keep an eye on her mental and moral development as much as anything else and check that Lilith was just a normal, if very talented, little girl; and had no urges to dabble in dark magic or use her abilities to become a tyrant of her school fellows.

It was only a single period of charms, and the class demonstrated how well – or otherwise – they had understood the levitation charm. Alcippe here was pleased to make up for how much of a dunce she felt in transfigurations and potions; and even Lycidice managed a faltering hover of the egg cup they had to use. As her boil curing potion had been rather an evil mess of brown sludge she was glad of the filip to her ego.

The class pointed their wands dutifully said the words, _wingardium leviosa_ apart from Lilith who did not bother with an incantation or wand; and egg cups rose variously.

"Where is your wand, Miss Snape?" squeaked Flitwick.

"Oh, sorry sir, I forgot it" said Lilith, absently heaving it out of her belt. Her egg cup shot up in the air and she sighed and brought it down "It gets a little over excited sometimes" she explained "So I prefer not to bother with it."

"Nevertheless I think it would be a very good exercise to learn to limit its results" said Flitwick.

"Yes sir, if you like!" said Lilith equably.

She quite enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, charms being followed by History and then Enchanting; second classes were much better than the first class of the year because you knew what you were doing and could get on with it.

And she actually had to concentrate on her homework that evening with several quite long essays; and thought those people who declared the intention of writing their essays at the last minute quite silly.

She firmly promulgated this concept to her own set too, would be marauders and other cronies.

"If it's done, you KNOW you have free time after" she said "And it only takes one detention to muck up the lives of those who leave it all to the last minute, especially if it's a timed impot in the detention room not just lines in your own time and you can cheat by having a repeater pen."

"Is THAT how you did the impot for Professor Queach so quickly? You little git!" said Sextus.

Lilith grinned cheerfully and unrepentantly.

Filled with virtue and spare time, the majority of the first years went looking for trouble in the hour before bed time; and Lilith came up with the idea of playing shipwrecks around the entrance hall.

The participants had a marvellous time until a stop was put to it by Professor Hardbroom, who demanded an immediate cease to the mayhem – which the weevils obeyed and Peeves, who was generally adding to the noise and trouble, did not – and sent them all early to bed.

Which, as Lilith said, was well worth it and a lot better than wasting as much time doing an impot.

Thursday saw two new lessons for Lilith; Muggle Studies first thing, and, she confided to her group, just as well that it was now a compulsory study not just an elective for as wizards shared the world with muggles it was most awfully sensible that they should be better understood than they were.

There was a new teacher this year; as Lilith knew from school gossip, Charity Burbage having retired; the new teacher was Madam Leticia Jones, the twin muggle sister of muggleborn luminary of Ravenclaw, Araminta Jones, murdered by Odessa. Lilith thought it very sensible that a muggle with knowledge of the wizarding world should teach muggle studies and planned to ask her if they could have a railway club to explain economic infrastructure and so on like at Prince Peak.

Dumbar Finch, as the year's only muggle born, was to the fore in this class, though Lilith understood muggles quite well for her parents insistence that all their children know and understand muggles. Sapphira Bones, who had relatives in Rowan House was also quite knowledgeable; and Sextus had done his research too, though from his point of view it was more in the light of 'know the enemy'; not that muggles were the enemy but that his absent father was the enemy and he was a muggle.

Madam Jones quickly dealt with the myth that muggles used electricity to copy magical effects; as she pointed out, if muggles knew that there were magical effects to be copied that made a fine mockery of the statute of secrecy; and one might as well say that wizards used magic to mimic the effects of electricity. This shocked her pupils who were uncertain that electricity could be much use so Lilith put up her hand.

"With muggle technology, of which electricity is a part" said Lilith in a cold little voice "A man can be watched in the street by a device powered by electricity that is high above the earth's atmosphere and invisible to the eye, so that someone in England can watch someone in America or Australia or Russia or anywhere; and with a computer, an arithmetic device, arithmetic being the muggle equivalent to Arithmancy, can program a weapon powered by electricity to kill that man dead, also from another continent. Fortunately the ability to do this scares enough muggles into promising not to do it. I can't say I'd trust the likes of Gerhardt to pass up the chance to do so if he had similar capabilities at his command. Electricity is not better or worse; it does different things. Thank you Madam Jones."

"Miss Snape speaks of the sort of technology only governments can essentially afford of course" said Madam Jones "Though almost every muggle in the first world – the rich countries - owns a computer; and that means that any muggle can find and speak to almost any other muggle at the pressing of a few buttons. Our own computer experts, the muggle siblings of wizards and witches, are employed by the ministry to search continually for any discussion on this world wide web of communications for people setting up discussions about magic that they have seen or suspect; and artfully sabotaging such discussions, not by suppressing them but by making those who have made the initial observations sound like cranks. It will be a long time, alas, before we can be open because just as I saw anger and fear on the faces of some of you over the capabilities of technology that might make some wish to react violently, so too are muggles JUST as violent and paranoid as any wizard and knowledge of magic would make them react in the same way. Because we have a programme of teaching in place, we can show you that muggles are to be respected; and their capabilities not to be taken lightly; but to demonstrate that there are essentially more similarities than differences in that muggles and wizards are all human and think in the same way."

"Excuse me, Madam Jones, but how can they be? Aren't muggles mentally retarded?" asked Simi Patil, a Ravenclaw Patil.

"If you think I am retarded, why are you asking me a question?" said Madam Jones.

Patil stared.

"YOU are a MUGGLE?"

"I am; my twin was a respected luminary of House Ravenclaw who gained six NEWTs, four of them at 'O' grade" said Leticia "She was murdered by Odessa; I alerted Professor Dumbledore and was a part of the team who undertook a retributive strike. She shared her homework with me in the holidays; and I have gained OWLs and NEWTs in such subjects as do not require magic; I am qualified to compare Arithmancy and Arithmetic. I have an 'E' grade NEWT in Arithmancy. Am I then retarded?"

"N- no Madam Jones!" stuttered Patil "Please excuse me; I did not understand."

"It is, I'm afraid, a commonly held fallacy" said Madam Jones "In the same way that some people with musical talent believe that anyone who can't sight read a piece of music is as dense as a brick." There was brief laughter, especially from those Ravenclaws who had encountered Amos Leroy. Leticia went on, " I can't read music either; but I can hold a basic chant in a selection of languages well enough and with enough determination to AID a true chanter. Magical ability is buried in the population of muggles because wizarding blood is in the community; teenage wizards WILL be teenage wizards and sometimes muggle girls have babies. And when two muggles who both carry wizarding blood get together, the result is someone like Mr Finch. Or Hermione Granger. Or David Fraser. And sometimes it doesn't follow through; my twin and I for example who were not identical though we looked very much alike and she had the power; and I do not."

Drusilla MacMillan raised a hand.

"Were you jealous?" she asked.

"That she could do it and I could not? I was jealous of circumstances; but never of Araminta. She spend a lot of her free time trying to find a ritual that would awaken it in me; but she was my sister and I was glad she had every opportunity to develop her extraordinary talents" said Leticia softly "But I know the siblings of muggleborn can be jealous. That was the reason for opening Rowan House to give them more opportunities to be closer to the wizarding world. I have taught at Rowan House for several years; but when the opportunity came up to teach muggle studies here I was delighted. Only someone who has lived in both worlds can truly impart the knowledge of the differences and similarities of both worlds and try to bridge the gap of understanding. And hopefully one of you will one day be running the web site – the computer place that any muggle can access – about Hogwarts set up by David Fraser; hiding the castle by obviousness as a posh school. This is why we play muggle games; to look nice and normal. And, I understand, are reintroducing a game once played by both wizards and muggles that muggles almost forgot; hurley. A game of the fey. All people enjoy sport, whether participating or enjoying seeing the consummate skill of others." She grinned "I've also been asked to coach the cricket team in the summer."

The bell went while there were still questions seething; and Madam Jones dismissed them.

There was little enough time to discuss the class before Ancient Runes with Madam Babbling, but Lilith ruthlessly legilimensed a selection of her classmates to see how it had gone down; and was pleased to find that most of them were pleasantly surprised by their – in many cases – first encounter with a muggle.

Sappira Bones managed to shine again in ancient runes, seeming to take to other ways of writing sounds like a duck to water. Lilith enjoyed herself too; she read several languages used in the subject fluently; notably the ones Severus used most, like Gaelic, and the elder Futhark alphabet of Nordic runes as also utilised in Finnish. Lilith was as fluent in Finnish as in Gaelic and was currently studying from Severus' notes the ancient Aryan language; Latin and Greek were old friends, and Cyrillic something else she was studying. She looked forward to learning Hieroglyphs and cuneiform which she had only found out a little bit about by reading other people's books; and Oghams that she had managed to wheedle a book about out of Lucius. She was hoping to learn Hebrew too because of the uses with Arithmancy of the Hebraic Gematria methods.

Ancient runes after all were essential to anyone who took chanting at all seriously; as well as to research long lost and forgotten spells and rituals. Lilith planned on using her time in this class well, because there was nothing to stop her researching other languages in the library after doing the easy homework of those languages she was familiar with!

After break it was the double lesson of DADA; which meant that there was time for practical applications of simple defensive spells. Lilith, used to defending against the serious applications of ill will was rather sceptical about the use of some of the defensive jinxes when one might use _protego_ and put her hand up.

"Miss Snape?" said Remus.

"Sir, wouldn't _protego _ block everything that you've mentioned? I mean, it is a nursery spell you learn before you have a wand after all."

"Yeah" said Gennar "It isn't half a good one and I understood it blocked everything up to and including some of the unforgivable curses."

Remus smiled kindly.

"Lilith my poppet, I'm afraid the families you associate with are NOT usual in the degree of protection they give their children. It's a nursery spell – for the Potters, the Malfoys, the Ronald Weasleys, the Snapes, the Lupins, the Blacks and so on. For the rest of the wizarding world I should point out that in the Voldemort years, Fred and George Weasley did a roaring trade in cloaks enchanted with the shield charm – its proper name – because most adults could not cast it competently or hold it against determined assault. Gennar, you've been taught by Lucius and by your brother Draco; DO remember that Draco is an Auror and floats around on a higher plane than the rest of us and expects to stop stronger hexes than most. I hope to have this whole class competent with the shield charm by the end of the fourth year; but for most children of ten or eleven, the effort of holding it is too great. Those of you lucky enough to learn it as a nursery spell without wands find it comes easier when you have a wand to focus through. And those of it who learn it as a nursery spell come from families that took a deal of the brunt of the Voldemort years and came through it bruised and paranoid enough to equip their children with protection. Those who do NOT know the shield charm may count their families lucky to have escaped the worst."

"O' course, it was Rookwood's family handing out the grief" said McLaggan "OWWW!"

His nose had grown six inches.

"Try not to make yourself even more ridiculous than usual McLaggan" said Lilith "There's more than one branch to any family you know; if they're old enough and respectable enough, anyway. If an oik like you can understand that."

"Lilith THAT was uncalled for" said Remus. "Put his nose back NOW and apologise for blood snobbery; and then I will deal with Mr McLaggan."

"Yes sir" said Lilith and the boy's nose shrank to normal. "I apologise for blood snobbery; I apologise to all those people who are not from old families who manage to be decent reasonable people and aren't egregious gits."

"I suppose that will have to do" sighed Remus. "Mr McLaggan, your comment was inflammatory, presumptuous and based on pure conjecture. And moreover, whoever Mr Rookwood may be related to, he was a small child when all the deatheaters were killed. Unless he has performed acts to your knowledge that are unsavoury you are out of line; do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir; but he will."

"Well if he does you will be able to cite them as evidence to back up your words. Otherwise you are slandering him. Why, I might as well say that you are a boneheaded, unimaginative bully because I once knew a boy called McLaggan who was. And such an unprovoked comment as yours STARTS to be evidence towards my beliefs! Mr Rookwood, you are to be commiserated in your relative."

"Yes sir; he was a creep" said Rookwood "And my dad says he was always on at HIM to be a deatheater and my dad never was; so there. Thanks for standing by me, Snape."

"And THAT is fairly good proof of Mr Rookwood's essentially non deatheatery character" said Remus "That he is prepared to thank someone and accept friendship not cronyism. My respects to you and your father Mr Rookwood. Very well; I want you to research grindylows and write me six inches on them. Dismissed!"

The afternoon was devoted to a single charms lessons wherein they studied colour changes; followed by a double period of Care of Magical Beasts devoted to the handling of bowtruckles.

And as McLaggan was still sore at being ticked off by Professor Lupin he was the only one that got bitten for his inattention.

And they had been there a whole week; and Lilith felt as though she had been a schoolgirl forever.

It was immensely satisfying!

And over the weekend perhaps they could explore further all the secret places Lilith KNEW opened off the roof since there had been all the brou-ha-ha over the discovery of the body of the first Cosmo Malfoy.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was at the weekend when everyone was interested in Quidditch tryouts that Hazel Spikenard disappeared. Nobody realised for a while; the Gryffindors were down a few players too and busy seeing what talent they had amongst their new weevils.

Ravenclaw was taking an interest in their first years too because of the newly instituted custom of playing a second seven; and Sextus was pleased to be on the second team; as was Simi Patil. And if there were those who were less than happy that Leontius Bradley was not in the same class as his cousin – and would not even TRY to play – he avoided too much censure by saying that it didn't always follow in families, like being deatheaters and he could always sick Lilith Snape onto them.

The story of McLaggan's nose HAD got about.

And Gorbrin was busy rejoicing that their second seven actually looked like being better than the Ravenclaw second seven, giving Slytherin a chance at the cup!

When Hazel was not in her dormitory at bedtime things got suddenly very hectic in Gryffindor house; and Madam Spikenard was called in to use dowsing to find her, and promptly asked Albert MacMillan to help as, she said, the best dowser she knew.

Albert would do anything for the first teacher who had been so kind to him; as well as to find a poor lost kiddy.

He dowsed her to be somewhere in the border country, and with his notes, Sirius Black apparated to find her.

Hazel was loath to return, howling tears that her family home was either burned down or was about to burn down because she had seen it in a crystal ball.

"I never thought the silly kid would actually run away!" said Lavender "I'm sorry Gran! It's because I wanted to take her down a peg or two; I thought she'd send an owl to mum and dad and then look silly because she's such a pain over her visions!"

Madam Spikenard sighed.

"Oh Lavender! And I hear the guilt in your voice because you DID think she might do something silly; you've enough of the seer in you to know that! Well, no reasonable person would expect her to take off without telling anyone; so I shall do no more than tell you to reflect on all the signs that it was a bad idea to choose this way to rag her. And don't worry" she added grimly "She won't get off without a thorough scolding from me for being a very silly little girl."

Lavender suffered more from her conscience than from any formal punishment; as Madam Spikenard had expected; and Hazel, far from being petted for being brave was ticked off for being a naughty and tiresome child.

She had a temper tantrum which did NOT impress her grandmother who sent her to the sickbay with a dose of glumbumble juice.

And on the next day, Madam Spikenard had a frank talk about children who put on airs about talents and made themselves obnoxious until this sort of thing happened to them. She refused to say who had organised the rag; but made it quite clear it had been a rag. And that the only way a reliable diviner developed their powers was with as much hard work as any other subject.

Hazel was unwontedly squashed!

Jayashree meanwhile had decided she would be a part of Lilith's group of would-be marauders and Lilith let it be known to her sister Lydia that SHE had a group encompassing ALL the houses; which as Lydia pointed out to the rest of the Mad Marauders had to be taken into consideration as the first time THAT had happened.

Nathan too was planning for his group to be accepted; and was rather annoyed by such troublesome elements of the second who made any trouble from the second likely to be leaped upon. This was the likes of Hazel Spikenard; and the quarrelsome Kettleburn and Ogden and the object of their affections who did NOTHING to assuage the quarrels – indeed it pleased that little madam's sense of vanity to encourage the mayhem – and, in Nathan's opinion too the interference of Walter Trimmer in his own house. Trimmer was academic and half muggle and seemed to have the idea that he had to prove himself worthy by poking his nose into the business of everyone else and reacting to mischief with what Nathan described as the elephantine officiousness and tact of a new Hufflepuff prefect. That this may have been partly to ingratiate himself with Madam Hardboom, since his potions ranged between loathsome concatenations and unspeakable effluvia – in the description of Severus Snape fans – was not the point. And did NOT endear him to Connie in any case. Connie might be inclined to listen to tales from those she considered reliable – most of whom would drop a hint only if they thought dangerous mischief was under way – but had no patience with those who could not put in the effort to produce even a mediocre potion. Connie held that so long as one was methodical, anyone bar a muggle or a true squib could brew a potion even if it was not very good; and she would go to infinite pains for those who asked for help. Which Trimmer did NOT, feeling that he should overcome his problem without troubling his teacher. As he did not scruple to trouble her about mischief he knew of or suspected, however, Connie put him down as slapdash and lazy, which whilst maybe not wholly fair was only Trimmer' fault for taking more notice of the peccadilloes of others than of his own work.

Since the boy was quite capable of picking up if Isambard and Nathan were more excited than usual and pretending to go to sleep whilst pinching himself periodically to stay awake until they sneaked out, the second's would-be marauders had been more than once caught by Connie who could not, in conscience, ignore the fact of two of her boys – and one of her girls when she checked, U-may being part of the group – being out of their beds.

And Charis Rawlins and Tobala Gan Torlo in Gryffindor held forth about the irritation of having Madam McGonagall permanently waxy over the four troublesome Gryffindors aforementioned.

Jingjie Chang and Wanda Waffling had slightly less trouble in Ravenclaw; the one prig in Jingjie's dormitory was much impressed by Jingjie's prominent wizarding family and preferred not to know what the boy might get up to.

"If we were only proper Marauders we'd have access to the sleep gas to keep Wally Trimmer shut up" said Nathan irritably, glaring at the grey and miserable sky as they huddled under the dolmen to meet, from whence they might readily see the approach of the offensive Trimmer. "What are we going to do?"

"Trick the little blighter into blowing it and good with Auntie Connie" said Tobala.

"Any suggestions?" said Nathan.

"Yes; it's obvious" said Tobala. "Giggle lots and go to bed early; wait for the egregious little tick to pretend to go to sleep, and sneak out. Wait until he's out of sight haring after Connie and go back to bed. He won't half get a wigging for being the only one that IS out of bed, even if she suspects; you can always say, if she asks direct, that you had to go to the loo to chuck up, and use one of the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes skiving sweeties to make it true, that puts all the bad on Trimmer."

"Nice" said Nathan.

They tossed for who was going to throw up and Isambard lost; but it would be, as he said, well worth it.

Isambard, being Isambard, stuffed himself at supper to make sure it was a worthwhile puke; it seemed a shame to waste it in a small amount after all!

Madam Hardbroom was scrupulous in checking the veracity of any informer and the other boys of the dormitory started as her bright wand came into the room.

Nathan sat up.

"Oh Trimmer, you didn't have to get Madam Hardbroom up, he's much better now he's been sick!" he said.

Trimmer stared.

"You were going off what you call marauding, I know you were!" he said.

Connie came over to Isambard who was still rather pale.

"You've been sick?" she said sharply "Have you any idea why?"

"I think it was something I ate" said Isambard weakly; and truthfully "Or possibly the several things I ate in, er, unwholesome concatenation."

"I guess I shouldn't have bet him he wouldn't eat sardines with carrot cake" said Nathan innocently. He HAD bet Isambard that he would not each this odd combination; and Isambard had turned it down, but there was no need to fill Madam Hardbroom in on THAT piece of information.

"Sardines with carrot cake? That's enough to upset anyone's stomach! What horrid creatures little boys are to be sure!" cried Connie. "Very well, Isambard; try to sleep and if you don't feel better in the morning, Nathan had better see you up to Madam Pomfrey for the day. I'll bring you a dose of stomach settler in a moment, Walter stop pulling faces and get back into bed or we'll have you ill too with a chill. Which, whilst it might be a lesson to you not to be quite so busy about the affairs of others would be inconvenient for the rest of us."

Connie's stomach settler was a very pleasant concoction and Isambard told her that she was a gem.

"Well now!" laughed Connie "I hope you feel better tomorrow."

Walter Trimmer's expression of baffled fury was as sweet as the fact that he had got short shrift from Connie!

U-may spoke to Lilith.

"We're blood-joined already you and I" she said "And of one blood more than most for both being snakes in our spare time; could we apparate to the marauders' secret headquarters? Nathan says they have a book of things like useful potions."

"It's not quite honourable" said Lilith "We're blood joined to protect ourselves and we shouldn't use that advantage to maraud, because it takes away the efforts and achievements of those who marauded without blood bond. I thought about using it to feel where the big ones were to help map out and find secret passages, but I reckoned that would be unfair. But I don't see why your group and ours shouldn't join forces to pull some kind of stunt that'll make the big ones notice us."

"Any idea what?"

"Not offhand; but if your lot put their heads together and so do we, we'll meet on Sunday in the shrieking shack; you know how to wriggle into the whomping willow and press the knothole that stops it whomping, don't you, to get to the shack? The marauders don't really use it so it's okay for us to."

"I didn't but I guess I'll figure it out" said U-may, who was a self possessed little person. "I'm not about to have our fun blocked by a silly fool like Trimmer."

Lilith was feeling particularly happy because she was to be allowed to sit the Arithmancy OWL as well as transfigurations and had also been given a fascinating problem of seeing what she might find out about the potential arithmantic number twenty-three factorial. Madam Vector had told her it would be as well if she checked the calculations of the slightly dodgy proposer of the hypothesis in 'Cursebreaker's Monthly' where the witch who had written in mentioned that even muggles acknowledged the power of twenty three since it appeared in a religion called Discordianism. Lilith recalled her mother writing in to point out that Discordianism was a fictional religion in a work of fiction and had promptly ignored the problem; and pointed this out to Madam Vector.

"Is that so? Well that does make a slight alteration of one's perceptions" said Madam Vector, disconcerted "After all, one tends to assume many religious rituals based on numerology are based on half understood wizarding knowledge that muggles have happened upon. But it may be equally possible the writer of fiction has stumbled on something that as a muggle he is unable to exploit. It does NO harm to check it out; and frankly, my dear, you are a good enough arithmancer whilst being able to have the time to, well, waste, on something that might be utterly spurious. If you don't mind?"

Lilith grinned.

"Oh I'm as happy to debunk it as to prove it!" she said "It's nice to have something to really get my teeth into!"

Twenty-three, multiplied by each of the preceding factors to produce Twenty-three factorial came out to 25,852,016,738,884,976,640,000. In which there were twenty-three digits. That was a possible significance and Lilith noted that. Every numeral also appeared in the number, though with a number that big that was perhaps less significant.

Lilith also wrote down the frequency with which each single digit appeared; and found that the frequencies also added up to twenty-three. She pulled a face. They would do. However she did some more multiplying and found out that it was the first factorial number in which all the digits appeared at least once.

That was starting to look interesting.

Something Lilith also happened to know, because of Uncle Vladimir's scientific background, was that twenty-three pairs of chromosomes determined the human genetic code; and that humans have twenty-three discs in the spine. There was some constant about molecules too that was raised to 1023

She asked Ross Tuthill and found out it was called Avogadro's Constant and was 6.02x 1023 and was the number of molecules in a mole. There was enough assimilative correlation by nomenclature in that to consider that this was as much air as needed to be hardened into a diffusion grid to defeat Avada Kadavra; and THAT was worth working on if one massaged the name to the Avada Kadavra constant. Ross exlained that it was also the mass of the stable isotope of sodium – one that didn't fall apart in a hurry, he explained - which was the main component of salt which was in blood and actually sodium was a – here he broke off, thought a moment, and told Lilith that nerves needed sodium to shift messages like pain, feeling and how to tell muscles to move.

Lilith was fascinated. That had implications in blocking the cruciatus curse. She checked her factorial calculations and found that the number was the first time all the digits appeared; which was interesting. Twenty-three was also a prime number and goblins certainly were interested in that; so she investigated prime numbers. Goblins had the same number of chromosomes as humans after all. Twenty-three could be made by adding up two sets of prime numbers; 5+7+11 and 3+7+13.

She added up the digits in the factorial number; but that seemed less significant. If the zeros were treated as zero the result was ninety-nine; and no precise relation to twenty-three. If the zeros were counted as ten, the result was one hundred and forty-nine, and that was no precise relation to twenty-three either. Ninety-nine and one hundred and forty nine had some arithmantic interest in themselves but of no very great significance. The number ninety nine however reduced to nine if one added all the digits up and kept reducing according to standard numerological method; a significant enough number, reducing from ninety nine. One hundred and forty nine reduced via fourteen to five. both five and nine were good numbers but it was not earth shattering.

This was going to take a lot of work; and Lilith was thrilled that Madam Vector trusted her with it!

Madam Vector heaved a sigh of relief to have Lilith working away in her class without any trouble; even if half the huge pile of books the child had collected seemed to be muggle works!

Sextus Scarpin was fascinated by the problem too.

Especially when Lilith explained what chromosomes were and how her Uncle Vladimir had used Scarpin's Revellaspell to show by coloured lines laid onto parchment the precise nature of any potion, or being; and suggested investigating twenty-three with relation to Malfoy lines.

There were distinct correlations.

The digits of the factorial number corresponded quite well to the gaps between the significant groups of definitive lines.

"NOW we're cooking with bluebell flames" said Lilith in satisfaction "I was wondering how the devil to understand how genes worked to see if there was anything in that; but a magical solution is far better. You're brilliant, Sec!" she gave him a hug and a kiss.

Sextus flushed and looked pleased.

"Aw, nuts, half-pint" he said "Such exuberance over a simple suggestion any mug might have made!"

Lilith ignored that foolishness.

Sextus was still pushing her away; but she had no intention of letting him do so!

This did not solve the problem of what grand scheme to impress the older marauders with, but school work was important too, and Madam Vector wanted to know what a fresh eye made of this problem and so Lilith had a responsibility to help her!

Before the marauders might meet, there was another chanting class.

Professor Queach said that he hoped they had all done their homework and breathed every day; because otherwise today's lesson was going to be painful.

They were going to, he explained, enchant a doorway to turn anyone who passed through it blue. It was a steal from the Belle Marauders, only less stripy; but Tony thought it would amuse his chanters.

Accordingly they worked out a chant; the doorway being seven feet high by three feet wide – good arithmantic numbers – they were to make a chant of three lines long each of seven syllables that Tony murmured, having been introduced to David Eddings by Jade, might be called Ode to Blue.

They made it simple by just using every word that could come up with meaning 'blue' that Tony wrote on the board to rearrange into a harmonious chant. It was his skill more than that of the class that gave it any magical meaning; but it would give them success in a practical application.

"Remember it is in the intent as well as anything else" said Tony.

The chant began:

"Cerulean azure blue

sapphire sky celestial

cyan azure indigo".

That the chant appeared to be a competition between two warts was annoying, each one raising his voice in turn to be heard above the other; and their sense of rhythm entirely out of synchronisation with everyone else.

Tony absently dropped a wandless, wordless langlock on both boys and continued the chant; and when he felt they had reached a good crescendo locked it to the doorway with a loud clap of the hands.

"Well that went well despite the efforts of two of you to sabotage it" he said "You warts! Come here!" Edward Kettleburn and Orlando Ogden came there and Tony cancelled the spell.

"Sir, some rotter put a spell on me that locked my tongue to the roof of my mouth!" declared Kettleburn.

"Me too!" said Ogden.

"Yes; it was me" said Tony calmly "I did not see why the efforts of others should be spoilt by your disgraceful behaviour! Now, would you care to tell me WHY you tried to spoil the chant?"

Both stared at him in open mouthed incomprehension.

"We weren't trying to spoil it sir!" said Kettleburn in indignation "At least I wasn't; but he was getting louder to make like it was him doing all the work so Genevieve would be impressed, and I had to let her know I was working as hard, didn't I?"

Tony stared.

"It was so trivial as to impress a GIRL?" he said in disgust "And at your age? Well I have to say if you think you were working hard you are both sorely mistaken! You have no sense of timing and rhythm; and you also have not been breathing during the week that your voices had not control! Are you here only to impress this wretched female? Yes, I read it in your eyes! Well, you two are BANNED from this class; and if I ever see either of you again it will be too soon! Now get out you lamentable Lotharios, you vacuous valentines, you calamitous Casanovas!"

"He's been taking lessons from daddy" murmured Lilith to Sextus who was listening with admiration.

"I LIKE your dad" said Sextus.

The wretched female, Genevieve Harris, was not best pleased at being, as she saw it, made a fool of by her swains and it was plain from the scowl on her face that they were both likely to be given their marching orders by their inamorata.

And Oliver Harris, Genevieve's brother in the fourth, who had joined the classes because he had seen what the Belle Marauders managed, had the sort of look on his face that promised his little sister a good talking to for encouraging such shenanigans!

Everyone else enjoyed being turned blue by their gateway; and there was much giggling.

Naturally Tony cast _finite incantatem_ to return them to normal!

The two groups of Marauders successfully negotiated the whomping willow; each having a snake animagus attached to them to slide inside to deactivate the whomping so the rest could easily negotiate the hole at the base of the tree and scuttle along to the shrieking shack.

Walter Trimmer, following Nathan and Isambard so he could report them for breaking bounds as he was certain they were about to do, was filled with frustrated despair when they disappeared utterly somewhere near that horrid flailing tree; he dared not approach too closely to the tree as it thrashed towards his stealthy movements.

He went instead to Professor Dumbledore – being afraid to approach Madam Hardbroom again – to report that the naughtiest boys in his year and their friends had been leading weevils into danger near the whomping willow and he was afraid for the safety of the little ones.

"Hm" said Professor Dumbledore "You're obviously a very clever boy and hard working Walter."

Walter glowed.

"I do try very hard sir!" he said.

"Yes; very impressive that you have finished all your weekend homework so well that you are able to be busy about the affairs of others" said Dumbledore "I look forward to seeing 'O' grades on all your homework when the staff pass their marks to me."

Walter went scarlet. He had not yet completed his weekend homework; and he had skimped some for watching the Marauders!

He muttered something and fled to put in some work hurriedly!

"The trouble is, all the best wheezes have already been pulled" said Nathan "Mostly by previous marauders. Now I know finding secret passages is a part of it; and we've found a few."

"And I found a few when I was little, before we went to Prince Peak" said Lilith "And we got one to the roof from Argus's cupboard too; do you oiks know enough to do marauding maps? 'cos I don't."

"'Fraid not" said Nathan.

"Reckon I might" said Jingjie "We can give it a go, and see if inspiration strikes about wheezes while we're mapping. It's more important anyway to work together and come up with something really good than it is to rush it and be disappointing."

"I have red hair; it makes me impatient" said Lilith.

"Then slip into something scalier and indifferent" said Nathan unsympathetically. "D'you think I DON'T want to do something? And by the way, are we going to hit the marauders or the whole school?"

"How are we going to hit the whole school?" said Charis.

"Well lots of us are potioneers" said Nathan.

"What about some gas with amusing side effects?" said Sextus "A laughing gas seems a little trite….."

"Hey, I know!" said Lilith "What was that gas called that mum was muttering about being safer than hydrogen in the dirigible fart curse, 'cept it being easy to change farts to hydrogen because hydrogen is in methane."

"You mean Helium?" said Nathan intelligently. "What, elevate everyone?"

"Helium's that one that makes people talk like Donald Duck; is THAT what you were thinking of?" said Charis, whose family kept in touch with things muggle.

"Who's Donald Duck?" asked Wanda Waffling.

"An anthropomorphised duck on muggle children's entertainment" said Charis "He has a silly high pitched quacky sort of voice; and this gas is used by divers to stop them getting some trouble or other."

"If you have pure oxygen compressed by being deep under the sea you get like you're drunk; we watched a TV program – muggles had wireless vision before Lucius invented it for magical people – and so they have helium in it" said Lilith "That's JUST what I was thinking of, Charis!"

"Will it hurt anyone?" asked Venus.

"Muggles aren't going to breathe it in deep diving if it did, would they?" said Lilith in scorn.

"Well I don't know; do muggles care what happens to each other?" said Venus.

"Venus, you poor prune, muggles are people like everyone else!" said Lilith "And some do and some don't – like everyone else. And they CHOOSE to use this as part of their jobs or hobbies to dive deep in the sea. Because they can't do bubble head charms and y'know I don't actually know how well a bubblehead charm would work that deep anyway and it might not. There are muggle laws about safety at work so it's gotta be safe even if people doing it for fun might take more risks."

"The great thing is" said Jingjie " – If we can make it that is – that as it's a gas it can't be cancelled even with _finite incantatem_ because it's made."

"I fancy I might have stuff to look up about it" said Lilith "'Cos I'm researching an arithmantic problem Madam Vector asked me to check out to either prove or debunk and I've borrowed Ross Tuthill's muggle science books."

Naturally the others wanted to know what problem she was researching and a lively and noisy debate ensued over whether twenty-three was arithmantically significant or whether it really was a hoary old chestnut.

They were impressed by Lilith's findings to date, however; and fell to discussing whether using twenty three syllables in a chant would enhance the strength of any transfiguration of the human, goblin or elf form because of tying the change to the genetic material.

"Especially if you did it in Finnish and used naming magic" said Lilith. "I reckon it could be more usefuller than that with a betterer result because if you tied it to the genes you could maybe stop things that run in families like club foot and raised shoulder."

"Or cure red hair!" said Isambard.

There was a brief altercation following this, Isambard having forgotten that Nathan's mother had red hair as well as Lilith.

Isambard absently undid himself from the purple ball with ginger-haired spider legs and orange bats.

"Pax" he said "Sorry; couldn't resist."

"You could also tie a spell to go off when people passed a certain point that only worked on, say, a particular family" said Jingjie "If you were good enough. That could be awfully dangerous; because equally it could be tied to something awful happening to, say, all goblins."

"Then that ought to remain a marauder secret" said Lilith "And I say, don't you think if we pulled that apart together, that might be as impressive to the big ones as a massive trick?"

"Probably; but it seems a shame to waste a lovely jape too" said Nathan.

There was that and Lilith conceded the point.

The wannabee marauders reconvened to the prep room – that Lilith pointed out would have been out of bounds on Sunday at Prince Peak except during prep periods – and Lilith lectured on such things as atomic weights and numbers.

"All very well but how do we do it?" said Nathan.

"Well we need to collect a lot of farts to turn into hydrogen first using the dirigible fart curse, or at least portions of it, and then use transfiguration to stick loads of hydrogen atoms together to make helium" said Lilith.

"Sounds good; it's going to take for flipping ever for us to fart THAT much though" said Nathan.

"But if we put this spell on the loos and collect the bubbles with our wands we can get heaps!" said Jingjie "Especially if we go and hint to the elves in the kitchen that we'd like beans on toast for tea; gas city!"

"I like" said Nathan "Lilith, what are you reading up?"

"I was just looking at the twenty third element; it's a toxic metallic substance called Vanadium used in some steel alloys" she said "I wondered if Gorbrin might find that useful to include with his Goblin Silver and Goblin Steel in his big knife; because of the twenty-three thing. I'll go talk to him."

"No you won't you snaky little charmer" said Nathan "Not until you've taught us the dirigible fart curse and we've figured out how to stick it on the loos instead and do so."

"Oh well I expect he's necking with Meliandra now anyhow" said Lilith cheerfully. "It goes like this…." She told them the incantation, casting it on Nathan, and showed them the form of the spell with Scarpin's Revellaspell.

"Oh simple enough to twist into a containment sac hung inside the pan" said Jingjie "It's got to have the bum actually push into it but otherwise there's no problem. Seven girls and five boys; we'll sort it by teatime."

There was a concerted scurry round various toilets once the younger marauders, who had less experience of twisting spells – except Lilith of course – than the second years had got the idea. Venus and Jayashree elected to work together to make sure they got it right; and they were off.

"What are the wart and weevil Marauders up to, anyone know?" asked Mortimer Bane of his group "They appear to have an obsession with toilets."

"Oh dear, reversed flow jinxes I suppose" sighed Mei "I guess I ought to check; some things just aren't done."

"You do the girls; I'll check the boys" said Mortimer.

They met outside the first set of loos and exchanged perplexed glances.

"Collecting and changing it to hydrogen? Are they planning on floating something big?" said Mortimer.

"Dunno" said Mei "I hope they're aware that hydrogen's explosive. I'll have a quiet word with Jingjie."

Mei's cousin beamed at her.

"Oh yes we know hydrogen's explosive" he said "We aren't leaving it as hydrogen though, we need that as a starting point."

"PLEASE be careful about not having any naked flame anywhere near it" said Mei "Otherwise you've got enough collecting to take the whole school clear across the country to the East Neuk of Fife."

"Gosh!" said Jingjie, impressed. "THAT's something to consider doing to Odessa, put the dirigible fart curse on their loos and a delayed bluebell flames."

Mei grinned.

"Certainly one to hold in reserve!" she said.

Lilith did have a chat to Gorbrin and showed him her calculations; and found him much interested.

"Better yet" said Gorbrin "To tie it to the twenty three pairs of chromosomes and use a touch of blood magic in it too; in the quenching. I'll start collecting my blood with an anticoagulant and knock up a blood replenishing potion to be able to leak enough. Thanks young Snapeling; appreciated."

Lilith grinned at him.

"You really are a pioneer in combining the metalworking with other things, Gorbrin; I think that ought to be encouraged" she said "And besides, if you use the blood quenching, can't you tie it so that only one of your blood can summon the sword to hand and do a Hawk the Slayer? You might want to talk some human Malfoys into giving some blood too."

"Thanks; I will. That's a cool idea" said Gorbrin. "I like Voltan better than Hawk actually; he has a dark sense of humour rather like dad."

Lilith giggled.

"Or my dad" she said "Baddies are always more fun than heroes; they're usually deeper characters. That's what makes stories more interesting than real life; Voldemort had no saving graces and was a pretty predictable type and Gerhardt's just a Junker-type bully with a fat arse."

Gorbrin laughed.

It was hard to feel awe and fear over that sort of dismissive description!

"Well don't you go underestimating him young Lilith because there's a lot more to the git than that" he warned.

"Oh! Yes; but my sister's on his case" said Lilith airily "Now she's gone all wolfy, she's the Jade Wolf; and who but the Young Siegfried is the Golden Son?"

Gorbrin nodded.

"Yes; we were in the join-share, remember?" he said. "Lydia promulgated the theory. Did you come to it independently?"

Lilith nodded.

"I thought it was a bit obvious; but then I know what she's up to" she said. "anyway, have fun with your vanadium!"

"Oh I shall" said Gorbrin, planning on talking to Jorbal about it first.

As it happened Jorbal was excited; as much for the aspect of prime number magic as anything else, and he demanded that Gorbrin make the sword to have three sizes that corresponded in proportion to one of the sets of prime numbers that added up to twenty three.

Gobrin nodded readily.

It made good arithmantic sense.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"I say, Phil, I reckon I can cure your dog allergy f'rever" said Lilith.

"Y'reckon?" Philamon was interested.

"Yup; only I need exactly twenty-three drops of your blood in this crucible" said Lilith

"Is that this blood magic people talk about in hushed voices?" asked Philamon.

"Not erzacly" said Lilith "It's kinda blood magic but not the heavy sort people talk about in hushed voices. This is less blood magic than curing werewolves potion; only I need YOUR blood for you to drink back to make the cure, see, 'cos if it's mine it won't work on YOUR allergy, only cure you of not being Lilith Snape and you aren't anyway."

"All right" said Philamon who was nothing loath to give anything a try.

Lilith carefully counted out twenty three drops of blood as he cut his thumb, grimacing; and absently waved a hand to cast _episkayo_ to heal the little cut.

Then she chanted,

"Canis, finis woof woof woof

canis finis raise the roof

canis, finis bow-wow wow

right now!"

She repeated the chant another twenty two times, counting on a rosary with twenty three beads she had already prepared. It was a good idea to keep track; muggles often did have good ideas.

"Now you drink it" she said.

Philamon pulled a face and drank down his own blood.

"Wasn't that Latin a bit…. Well, not strictly accurate?" said Sextus.

"Naturally" said Lilith, scornfully "How would an anti-dog chant work if it weren't dog Latin?"

Sextus laughed.

"You have an answer to everything half pint" he said lazily.

Lilith beamed at him.

"I don't feel any different" said Philamon.

"Well say hello to the blast ended pekes tomorrow and see how it goes then" said Lilith. "It jolly well ought to work; it's arithmantically perfect."

She was hanging about waiting for Sextus to finish his homework so they could collect up the bubbles of hydrogen and store quietly in the broom shed for added safety until the middle of the night when the youngest marauders would go to work on changing it into helium ready to release at breakfast time.

The gas was collected; and several dozen invisible balloons of spell-enclosed hydrogen were dragged quietly out of the castle.

"Have we got time to change it before bedtime?" asked Nathan "I don't want Trimmer getting in on the act."

"Leave Trimmer to me" said Lilith.

Nathan was a little startled to see a large green snake wriggling into his dormitory that he recognised as Lilith; who reared up and sank her fangs into Trimmer.

"Crumbs Lilith, you haven't killed him have you?" he asked in some consternation.

Lilith wriggled back into her human form.

"Cor, do talk sense, you big Malfoy baboon!" she said "I just tailored my venom to be a combination sleep potion and a confusing and befuddlement draught; like anyone will notice the difference. He'll think being bitten was all a bad dream, even if he HAD been keeping awake. Well are you coming or not?"

The dozen would-be marauders reconvened in the broom sheds and proceeded to chant, some perhaps with greater skill and effect than others, but those who knew what they were doing soon had changes taking place. They used the tune of the 'Irish Washerwoman' Lilith having been inspired by Isaac Asimov's use of it for his comic song 'Paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde'. Those unable to deal with the chemical words she borrowed from Ross's chemistry books just la'd the tune or whistled as backup; which all helped.

It was the intent almost as much as any arithmantic calculation anyway with what was essentially a moderately straightforward transfiguration.

The bubbles of gas were quietly tied magically over all the tables in the great hall; including the staff table as, Lilith said, it would be unfair to leave the staff out of the fun and not let them sound like Donald Duck too.

Nathan grinned and refrained from pointing out that the staff might not actually want to sound like Donald Duck; but it seemed a shame to point this out.

Besides, Lilith was her mother's daughter and would be bound to argue.

They neatly avoided Argus Filch because Lilith picked up Mrs Norris and stroked her ruthlessly and lovingly and reduced her to drooling, purring pleasure; and slid back to various houses, Jayashree wishing she was not the only one in Hufflepuff and hastily resuming tiger form as she got back to bed in the hopes of not being out of tiger form too long.

"You are silly" said Mohini "You will get into trouble associating with such wild ones!"

"It's fun" said Jayashree "I LIKE being in trouble!"

When everyone was assembled at breakfast and conversation was in full swing, the bubbles were released by the surreptitious wand work of the younger ones.

And the conversation suddenly got faintly hysterical.

The staff too looked somewhat disconcerted.

Dumbledore twitched his wand, spoke again to Sirius, and looked quite taken aback.

The sonorous spell reached everyone though it still sounded like Donald Duck.

"Would the perpetrator or perpetrators of this ingenious piece of mischief be good enough to tell me how long this effect is going to last?" asked Dumbledore.

The two groups of marauders stood.

"It's helium gas sir; we made it. I say, don't we all sound COOL!" said Lilith quacking happily "And it should dissipate of its own accord in a very few minutes. It's quite safe, muggles use it all the time for diving, so you need not worry!"

"How kind of you Miss Snape!" said Dumbledore. He twitched his wand again and summoned a breeze to carry the gas away; and resumed in a normal voice "I hope you found it entertaining?"

"Oh yes, immensely sir!" said Lilith.

"Well I DO trust you find equally entertaining an eight inch essay each on how you made helium gas – in every detail – that you may write in the detention room this evening for MY entertainment" the headmaster smiled.

Lilith beamed at him.

"May we use our research books to refer to sir?" she said.

"Oh please do; I'd hate you to leave any details out" said Dumbledore.

"Nice jape, warts and weevils" Chad said "Hearing the head sounding like a house elf on butterbeer was superb!"

They all grinned.

"THAT said Nathan "Is our first proof of our readiness to maraud; the second is serious marauder business and we'd like a meet to tell you all about it."

"All right" said Chad "We'll convene a full meeting in the detention room at midnight….no you kids ought not to be out of your beds two nights running; you'd better get your essays done in double quick time and we'll meet you there for the last twenty minutes of your deten, all right?"

Nathan nodded.

It was nice that the big ones did not pooh-pooh straight away the idea that they had serious business.

"Wretched cubs" said Assim Khan to his niece and adopted daughter. "Art thou so lost to shame as to make a tiger's voice sound like a mewling kitten?"

Jayashree giggled. U-may grinned.

"I want to be a marauder!" Jayashree said.

"Assuredly thou wilt be with such goings on!" said Assim. "Dost know what it is to be a marauder?"

"Yes, o most exalted relative" said Jayashree "It is to be ready to fight evil and to hone one's skills by mischief; to be part of a brotherhood that is larger than any one but that any one may be greater than the brotherhood at need."

"You've been told well enough then" he said "U-may, thou knows already from Bella dost not?"

U-may nodded.

"Yes, o most exalted parent" she said.

Assim half changed to swipe both with a rough tiger tongue.

"Then I wish you well" he said and strode away.

"Tigers are awfully formal aren't they?" said Lilith.

"Partly it's being Indian" said U-may "But tigers are formal. It goes with having lots of teeth and long claws; not being formal in a rakshasa society can lead to messy bloodshed."

"I guess that makes sense" said Lilith.

The detention room was a scene of distinct industry as the youthful miscreants worked hard to finish their imposition in time for a meeting; though some of the youngest wondered how this was to take place with Professor Black supervising their detention.

Sirius looked up.

"Are you lot done yet?" he said.

"Almost sir" said Jayashree, scribbling like mad.

Sirius waited for her to put her pen down; and Lilith and U-may exchanged looks as they felt the blood pulse.

The back of the chimney opened.

"GOSH!" said Nathan.

The upper two layers of marauders, including the head girl, entered the room; and Remus Lupin and Assim Khan. Remus was carrying the portrait of James Potter.

"You had something serious for us" said Sirius as Jayashree purred suddenly to realise that her uncle was a marauder too!

"Lilith better tell it; it's her baby but we've kind of contributed a bit" said Nathan.

Lilith explained her researches and how the use of twenty-three arithmantically could target specific genetic groups with a high degree of accuracy.

All the oldest marauders were skilled arithmancers even if some of the Belle Marauders looked upon it as more of a necessary chore than the pleasure those like Lydia did.

"Lydia? Mortimer?" Mei turned to those she considered their top arithmancers.

"She's quite right" said Lydia as Mortimer nodded soberly "This is horribly dangerous. We do have one distinct advantage however."

"What's that?" asked Sirius.

"Oh Padfoot!" said Lydia "The enemy are always blood snobs and racists right? And when are THEY likely to give credence to muggle science? How many wizards have even HEARD of chromosomes? Let alone have a vague idea how they work? Lilith sits there picturing a double helix – a wonderfully magical shape, incidentally – when she's sodding about with other people's innards and that's what makes it work. That's why most wizards – and obviously I include witches – can't do higher magic, because though it's fine to use incantations at low level if you want to do anything complex you have to know how; and if you want really complex you have to know why too. Same as muggle science. Any idiot can tune a television or surf the web – mind you there are muggle technosquibs that can't even do that – but it takes a real er, geek to write the programs that make parts of the web work and even more knowledge to build the damn things in the first place. Magically speaking we're all top grade geeks."

"Good" said Sirius "You're right."

"Zabini" said Lilith "He's clever enough to TRY other methods even whilst despising them. I don't know why he's racist; I wish we could turn him. I think he's probably all right really."

"Well maybe the Belle marauders can try being nice to him instead of jinxing him into a ball on principle" said Mei.

"Why us?" said Bella, who was also purring gently at Assim.

"Closest to him in age" said Mei.

"I'll tackle him" squeaked Mimi "If I can make him acknowledge that I am as clever as him and a person that's half way. He IS bright Lilith; you're quite right. And he's no quitter either."

"Well do we qualify as marauders?" said Lilith.

"You do" said Sirius "But you're younger than we like to bring in fully…"

"With Jade in Durmstrang don't you think more to blood pulse would be handy?" said Lilith "we will be obedient about not getting involved in anything we can't handle; but we CAN help by dissipating the killing curse and so on."

"WHAT are you talking us into, half-pint?" said Sextus.

"Blood magic" said Lilith "We share blood at a ritually auspicious time and then we all get to contact each other and bleed for each other and so on. Haven't you READ 'Blood Magic, Love Magic'?"

"Yes of course I have" said Scarpin "Is that what this is about? I suppose the definition of brotherhood should have told me….. does this mean we all have to spend time as tigers?"

"No" said Assim "But you can find a tiger form easily if you want one."

"Or indeed any animagus form that one of us uses" said Sirius "Dog; from me and David Fraser; cat, from Willow; snake from Lilith, U-may and Krait; and sundry others from the likes of the Prowling Marauders and the New Marauders. Lilith, stick stripes on your snake and you lot can be the Striped Marauders; Nathan, your lot are the Pepperingye Marauders."

There was laughter over that name being given for Charis Rawlins' participation.

"What, not the Bedknob Marauders?" laughed Nathan.

"Open to misinterpretation" said Sirius. "we'll work out a good date to blood you in; anyone object to that? If so, you'll be a sort of associate member but not a full Marauder."

"If it's worked for Harry Potter and so on it's good by me" said Wanda.

"We kind of half guessed, some of us" said Gennar "Even if hearing it said out loud is a shock."

"If my cousins are up for it I certainly am" said Jingjie "No Ming?"

"Ming and sundry friends – Gorbrin, Meliandra, Erica, Jaska and Jardak are associate Marauders" said Sirius "not full marauders but volunteers to bleed for us if need be."

Jingjie nodded.

"I'm glad" he said.

"Oh if my BROTHER has no difficulties about it definitely nor have I" said Gennar. Tobala, Jardak's sister, nodded firmly too.

"Well, your detention time is up" said Sirius "We'll show you the marauding room another time; it's under fidelius charm and we need to show you how to get in. The book of wickedness lives there. Try not to break in on Stripes Khan in his room too often; his fluffy white tummy is a private thing. Meantime there are various passages here; we'd like to see what you've found yourselves to date, and then we'll blood you. Now hoppit; and finish your homework."

Stripes cuffed Sirius across the back of the head for comments about his fluffy white tummy.

His brother had NO decorum concerning tigers; but then dogs had no decorum!

A few weeks into the term the blood group – who had already spread out one cruciatus curse placed on Jade – received an excited blood pulse from her and the cryptic communication,

"I say, I've just watched the world's craziest blue movie!"

Jade went on to explain that the Care of Magical Beasts teacher at Durmstrang was brilliant and innovative and had used omnioculars to record animal behaviour, including never previously described mating rituals of Graphorns. Lilith, who was interested in everything wanted to know more; and when Jade spoke of using this for Wizarding Wireless Vision so were Gorbrin and Nathan, it being Lucius' pet baby at the moment. As Graphorns were not stripy or full of purr, Bella and her group were somewhat less interested.

Lydia too was delighted that her researches about egophonic magic as used by Voldemort to be alerted to the use of his name were going to prove useful for Jade; for Jade mentioned that in passing too. Most people who had stayed with the conversation were, however, more interested in the application of Omniocular technology.

"Reckon building a long term recorder on the same principle might just be a NEWT level Metalwork project!" opined Gorbrin.

Gorbin meanwhile was wondering how to get hold of Vanadium; and asked Sirius if it was obtainable for muggle chemistry through muggle sources.

Sirius scratched his head.

"Damned if I know; ask Ross Tuthill to see what he can find out."

It was absurdly simple in the end; Connie Hardbroom had to sign as supposed chemistry teacher and Dumbledore had to countersign; and for experimental magic Dumbledore was more than happy, and Connie ready to endorse anything a favourite of hers like Gorbrin wanted to try.

Meanwhile he worked on the filigree brooch with the shield charm that was his other piece; played quidditch and licked the hurley team into shape for the visit over half term to St Jodoc's.

And before they knew where they were, half term was upon them!

The Hurley team sorely missed Seagsron Snape; but Lilith played and so did Mortimer Bane, who had come since Seagh had left for Prince Peak. Gorbrin was almost loath to include a child as young as Lilith; but the girl was uncomplaining about the odd injury and was as game as they came! And needing a team of fifteen Gorbrin had to take anyone who would play! As not all hockey players were prepared to play – at least not a serious game – this was easier said than done.

The team consisted of Gorbrin himself, Meliandra, Mad, Chad, Leo, Mei, Lydia, Mortimer, Jardak, Ming, Ross Tuthill, Jack Clements, a surprising volunteer in Jack Murray, Gennar Malfoy, Lilith Snape and Albert MacMillan as reserve, being more a cricketer than anything else but willing to help out Gorbrin. Stoyan Krumm played second reserve being fair at all games without being the great quidditch player his brother was.

St Jodoc's were nervous about a new game; and both sides started warily before they got into the fast-paced exciting game!

Hogwarts beat the host team by a comfortable margin of six goals, eleven to five; and revenge was promised by the boys of the Cornish school!

They ate a slap up tea of scones with a choice of apricot or strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream.

Mimi decided to make a blunt yet potioneering approach to Zabini; and brewed Amortentia.

The fact that it was a NEWT level potion and she was a fourth year did not trouble the elf in the slightest; she may not have been Severus Snape's daughter by blood but she was his daughter by inclination.

She used elf magic ruthlessly to poison Zabini with; and the boy's eyes turned on her with awakening desire and adoration, though he shook his head slightly as though to clear it of something unwelcome.

Mimi offered him a chocolate cauldron as he approached her after tea.

Predictably he chose the cherry flavour.

It contained the antidote, Liberamore Major.

The antidote took effect on Zabini as he was telling Mimi what delicate bones she had and how bright her eyes were; and he stared in outrage.

"I don't want you in love with me; especially not as a result of a potion's false tampering with your head" said Mimi "But it seemed like a good way to get your attention and to ask you, once the antidote took place, if that meant that you could actually find anything positive in a non-human as the so-called love potions are supposed to emphasise the good points."

"You haven't got any, freak" said Zabini.

Mimi grinned.

"I am at least prettier than Hyacinth Greengrasse and way, oh so far and away cleverer. The latter of which I do value more; all us Snapes do."

"You're only adopted."

"So? My adopted dad loves me as he loves all his kids, adopted and actual. Lilith's the oldest one that's actually his of course; but you'd never see any difference in the way he treats any of us because he's a great man. Like Lucius loves all his kids. Regardless of race. Because when the stereotypes are patently not true, it's a stupid man that insists on them."

"You're not like other elves; what has Snape done to make you different?"

Mimi laughed.

"Reared me as free with a loving family, Zabini; given me love, and time, and a sense of self worth. Been interested in me as a person not as a possession or an asset. I wonder if you can say the same about your upbringing? I reckon you must have spent a lot of time being shunted about as your mum got new husbands."

"Leave my mum out of this!"

"Oh? You brought my dad into it so I though you'd declared open season on parents" said Mimi lightly "I wonder if you hate elves and goblins because you've been palmed off onto servants? Don't do that" as Zabini swung a palm to slap her and found it impacting painfully on suddenly solid air "I can counter any attack you make, physical or magical and I can see in your eyes when you're about to cast wordless wandless magic too" she added putting up a shield to his stinging hex. "You're really very good Zabini, especially as you've learned on your own. I am impressed by you; and though I don't like you, or what you are, for I despise racism, I am at least a big enough person to acknowledge YOUR good points. Are you too petty to acknowledge mine?"

"Where did you get so strong a love potion?"

"It's Amortentia; I brewed it of course. I don't trust potions I haven't brewed myself or that have been brewed by someone I know is good. Gorbrin says you're good; so I guess I'd trust a potion of yours – if it wasn't brewed in knowledge an enemy of yours would take it. The antidote is Liberamore Major; I brewed that too. You can look them both up in 'Advanced Potion Making' by Libatious Borage. There's one in the library."

"That's the NEWT book!" said Zabini, scandalised.

"When you grow up beside the world's greatest potioneer you DO tend to pick up a little more than most people said Mimi "Besides, I have the touch; and that you have to have born in. Lionel Dell ended up a pretty good potioneer but only by hard work; it doesn't come naturally to him. Dad put in a lot of time with him – because he asked for the help. Don't you find it a bit lonely when you could discuss all the things you love learning – you DO love learning, don't you? – with the likes of Ming and Gorbrin who are the ones in your class who are your intellectual equals? Pearl Brocklehurst comes close, oh but she don't like racists either; and the Corbin twins are blood snobs about a much married mother. Hadrian Malfoy isn't that interested in anyone that doesn't have too many teeth or scales or fur so he's out as a confidante; Erasmus Bobbin is a contumelious excrescence upon the existence of Slytherin and Wilfrid Crabbe is a moron with delusions of mere imbecility and what's more he's a selfish little git with a middle name of nasty. Poor Zabini; I reckon your prejudices have made you lonely and unhappy. Or is that lonelier and unhappier? No, don't try that; you'll get expelled if you try and I do bounce it anyway" as she saw the thought of the killing curse formulate in his furious mind.

Zabini fought with himself.

"Try what?" he said.

"Crumbs, you don't have to be a world class legilimens to see you concentrating on an unforgivable curse like THAT" said Mimi. "A kid like Lilith would have picked THAT up just from your body language!"

"Get the hell out of here" said Zabini in a low voice "I loathe you and I despise you and everything about the idea of animals getting an education to set themselves up to be as good as us!"

"Ah; I see" said Mimi "It bugs you that some elves and goblins are better than a lot of humans. Well let me remind you that only those who passed highly are being let to come here; so we DON'T get accused of taking the places of other humans. And I say, why should dunces like Crabbe and Greengrasse have places and take them from bright kids whatever their race? YOU get impatient with them in class I bet like I get impatient with the pointless pedantry of Argus Clearwater and the refusal of Amos Leroy to even TRY in classes he doesn't think relevant to his over-rated talent. I'm lucky, most of my year are relatively bright even the Huffers; and one of the only Huffers in your year worth a damn is Albert MacMillan 'cos he may be half-way to being a squib but he has passion for the things he does excel in. George and Mardo are okay actually but I'm afraid cousin Daniel is a Huffer's Huffer and those wretched girls are three parts giggle and one part gormless."

"You have a nasty tongue, Snape" said Zabini, trying to pretend to himself that he did not appreciate some of Mimi's summations.

"It took you this long to notice? Crumbs, Zabini, did your brains run out of your nose with the last bat bogey hex someone dropped on you?"

"Just making the observation" said Zabini "Reckon there aren't many people can catch me with hexes THIS year; I've been practising."

"So long as you don't run across Lilith" said Mimi "She could take on any sixth former. Good job Lydia's here still to sit on her; precocious kids are all very well but they do need sitting on sometimes. She means well but it doesn't always follow that she does things the right way. What would you expect from a kid that young? We have to balance encouragement, kindness, love and a damn good spanking from time to time; I expect your big brother tried to be kindly but sat on you when you got as bumptious as younger siblings always do."

"My older brother? I have almost nothing to do with Blaise,"

"No? Of course he's the same sort of age as my mum – my first adopted mum, not my real mum; 'cos dad has his wives all at once like Lucius does, rather than taking new ones consecutively. But my mums are all alive which is nice."

"You shut up!" shouted Zabini "My mum has NOT murdered her husbands!"

"I don't think I said she did" said Mimi "Awfully touchy about that, aren't you old boy? Reckon if anyone's suggested it that's a reason to feel so touchy. For all I know your mother may have deliberately picked rich old men with terminal illnesses or used a diviner to tell her which ones aren't likely to survive; or she might be just very unlucky and grieves deeply enough for each that she can hardly drag herself into marriage again for missing the previous. Unless she just hates being alone. In which case she should get a diviner to find out whether the new one is going to live a long time. Not nice for you; I recall hearing you can see thestrals."

"How did you know there's a new one?" he fixed on that and ignored the comment about thestrals.

"Guesswork old boy; and using that old arithmantic truism of following a trend" said Mimi. "I wonder how long your mum would dislike goblins if Kordach was a widower with HIS piles of loot and a horoscope that gave him less than a year to live?"

"BITCH!" screeched Zabini, going for his wand.

Mimi absently shielded against the entrail expelling curse and blocked the cruciatus curse, drawing lightly on the blood group to do so. She folded her little arms and let Zabini pour curse after curse into her; until he was almost sobbing with frustration.

"Done?" said Mimi as he stood with sweat pouring off him.

"You – I cannot touch you!"

"No" said Mimi.

"All right, come on; get it over, whatever you're going to do to me!" said Zabini bitterly.

"Actually" said Mimi "I was going to suggest a hot bath with soothing smellies and a gramophone; the prefects' bathroom password this term is 'Pogrebin'. And take the rest of the chocolates; I swear on my honour the only ones doctored are the top two cherry, and that's with the antidote. You shouldn't take any ill effect from the other one. Why should I jinx you? I don't need to, nor is it desirable. I don't hate you or even really dislike you. I'm rather sorry for you."

"The unkindest cut of all" sneered Zabini, snatching the chocolates. "Well you do always tell total truth; you and the rest. I've often wondered if it's part of an unbreakable vow tied to your powers."

"No; it's not. It's just because we believe in honour and that sort of thing – old boy" said Mimi.

Zabini snorted.

He did head for the prefect bathroom however as she had suggested.

Mimi sighed.

Lilith was right; he was one mixed up little boy.

Inside his head was a mass of memories of adoring the beautiful mother who rarely had time for him; all his memories seemed to be of watching her get ready to go to parties and balls, admiring her but not allowed to touch her pretty gowns because he was bound to have grubby fingers; he recalled hearing her say when he was small that it was a shame the babe's stupid father hadn't given her a daughter because Darryl was pretty enough and it wasn't fair not to have one of each.

And he had been palmed off onto servants; and he had also, at the edge of his infant memory, seen his father die.

Mimi had told no less than the truth when she had said she was sorry for him; and conscience smote that the Belle Marauders had not done anything about it before.

But he was a year older and he HAD started it; and if he had been in their class they might have bothered to dig more into why he was a racist, what caused it.

Or maybe they would still just have jinxed him into a ball and otherwise ignored him.

He had been egged on by older ones – Jackman and Parkinson – when he was young; looking for approval perhaps? Seeking a substitute for his mother's attention? The girls he seemed to spend more time with were plain. Could he deep down mistrust pretty women? Did he deep down suspect that his mother HAD killed his father?

Too many questions that could not be answered without serious legilimensy; and that he would notice.

Well, it was a start; getting the boy to think.

Mimi sighed.

There was not a lot else she could do.

Meanwhile the first and second were starting metalwork in place of divination.

Lilith was delighted; she loved learning of any kind and this was something she knew nothing about at all. Professor Jorbal was a most excellent teacher who also answered questions fully, even if he was a little disconcerted to be asked by a child so you how the coefficient of magical expansion was affected by chanting.

Jorbal answered slightly evasively that this was a matter that was still under experimentation and that they would study it further as they progressed up the school.

Lilith beamed at him and determined to experiment as soon as she might!

Jorbal was pleased with his class; Miss Snape had an instinctive feel of how to handle any magic; Dunbar Finch was definitely talented; and Kazrael gan Tokar and Sextus Scarpin showed a level of understanding well above the norm. and most of the others were working hard and some showed considerable promise. Michelle Makepeace too showed some good talent; and Lilith was glad for the rather difficult girl that there was at least one class in which she might shine. Maybe it would make her less pugnacious about everything else.

After all it could only make her happier; and Lilith wanted all her class to be happy. She was happy; her group was about to be one of the youngest ever to joint he Marauders officially after all!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Lydia did not believe in hanging about; and worked out the soonest best time for a ritual blooding.

The dozen new members of the blood group cut their palms fearlessly and joined with their elders; and Sextus found he had tears in his eyes to know that he would never lose wonderful Lilith however much he sniped and sneered; and that he had family, a huge caring family who did not care that his mother was a bit weird and that his father was a rather inadequate muggle. And Lilith hugged him.

"I – now I'm your brother!" he said in wonderment.

Lilith giggled.

"Good job you're not really" she said.

Sextus was hurt.

"Why not?" he said snippily "Don't want to acknowledge it?"

"You poor prune" said Lilith "If you were really my brother, how could I marry you when we grow up?"

Sextus, for the first time in his life, was entirely robbed of words.

Lilith kissed his cheek.

"Aren't you a little young to be thinking of marriage, half-pint?" said Sextus, finding his tongue

"Oh yes; but you're far too much like dad for me to ever let you get away" said Lilith airily.

Zabini had been doing some thinking and went in search of Mimi.

The whole of the marauders seemed to have disappeared and so did the junior menaces. Come to think of it, the Marauders did occasionally disappear en masse; and what they got up to he could not guess. Was it something to do with the source of their power? Or was it that they really did go off on missions against the likes of Odessa? Surely not the little kids? Zabini was achingly curious; but he held it in check and when the various Marauders reappeared, or rather when the Slytherin ones returned to their common room he jerked his head to Mimi in a summons as though he did not care where they had been.

Mimi raised an eyebrow but wandered over to him.

"I want to talk to you in private" he said.

"Indeed?" said Mimi "I'd have sort of rather liked an appearance of Mr Manners to comply with your request."

Zabini compressed his lips.

"Would you mind a private conversation with me?" he said.

"Not at all; detention room?" she suggested.

Zabini managed a rueful grin.

"Well it's not a place most people would choose to go; as such a perfect place for a private assignation" he said.

Zabini was self possessed and patient; so they walked in silence until they were in the detention room.

Then he turned to her.

"You could have left me under amortentia and let me make a ghastly fool of myself" he said "Why didn't you?"

"It's against my moral scruples" said Mimi "You see to make a fool of you by physical means is one thing; especially the partial goblin transformation with the highly doctored polyjuice potion because you had all sounded off rather and we wanted you to know what it feels like – being looked at askance, having people trip over you and so on. But making people make fools of themselves by mucking with their thoughts, y'know that's rather off. I'm with dad on that, who disapproves of love potions on general principles though he has to teach amortentia; 'cos they ain't really love potions."

"What do you mean? For a brief while I was consumed with love for you, however disgusting I find that now!"

"No you weren't; you were consumed with lust and a degree of partiality that made you seek my best points – from your point of view. It's an infatuation potion and that's not love. Love, whether romantic love or the love of family or friends, is a love that will lay down the life if need be. Even amortentia can't make someone sacrifice themselves. You heard of the Malfoy twins?"

"Who hasn't?"

"Madam Myrtle Malfoy died in 1943 by Basilisk; and she was a ghost. Abraxus got her skeleton and persuaded her parents to give of their blood, and all the marauders volunteered to give blood too for the love of their friend; and part of the basilisk went into it too and phoenix tears and at the height of the ritual Abraxus reached into the boiling cauldron and as the flesh boiled off his hand it formed flesh for Myrtle and he pulled her out of the cauldron restored. It only worked because she was still a child and her parents still lived; but THAT's love."

Zabini was staring, frightened and impressed.

"Alright; I am impressed" he said. "That kind of puts into perspective why you would despise love potions. But I guess there aren't many people that wouldn't have liked the idea of me, that dislikes your kind, making an ass of myself over you."

"Like I said; I don't believe in mucking with people's heads. It's what Voldemort did. Look here, Zabini, will you swear to be discreet if I tell you something?"

"You trust my word?"

"Actually, if you give it, yes" said Mimi "You're a bully and a racist but otherwise you're as straight as a die; you never try to hide your misdeeds. It's one of your few likeable features."

"Ah, honest to a fault! All right I swear to keep secret what you tell me."

"Bella Black; when she was growing up the first time and met Tom Riddle, he used a combination pleasure spell and the cruciatus curse to muck with her head and control her. Bella as she is now doesn't know that yet; daddy told me because she's determined to view the memories of her old self that mother Krait stored in the Pensieve to understand what happened. And I want to be on hand to help my friend. THAT's why we don't like mucking with thoughts. All the deatheaters had a compulsion planted in them so that by the use of a Parseltongue phrase they became as instantly obedient as house elves; it's where Voldemort took the idea from. And most elves are, when all's said and done, pretty loathsome creatures."

He stared.

"But you're an elf!"

"Sure I am; but I'm a free elf with self determination and autonomy. And now the eight-hour chant has got rid of the compulsion to self punish it makes me sick that some elves still cringe and creep and I want to shake them until their brains run out of their noses!"

Zabini gave a harsh bark of laughter.

"Well how's about that? You're racist too!" he said.

"Not really; what I hate is people who won't do the best for themselves, who won't let others help them and who insist on reinforcing stereotypes. Like those goblins who must cut a shady deal because if everyone thinks it's what all goblins do, well then they might as well. I hate those men of any race or condition that feel that it's manly to throw their weight around and beat on those smaller than themselves; I despise those who are so weak that they feel they have to hurt women or smaller people. Like I hear you and Crabbe tried to leap on Kazrael except that it was a trap those weevils set."

He pulled a face remembering.

"I just want you non humans to know your place!" he said.

"What and are you with those who want Goblins under the same sort of obedience bond as elves? How would YOU like to be under the imperious curse all the time just because your ancestors cut a deal? You are negroid, Zabini; chances are your ancestors were in this country because they were slaves once; either because I don't suppose wizards living beside muggles gave a damn any more than the muggles in those days or because you've muggle slave ancestors. It's not the issue here that it is in America; and you can step aside from that. I've been a slave, Zabini; I was sold as a baby and I was a slave until I was five, knowing nothing but fear and pain. When daddy and mother Krait freed mummy they came looking for me; and subsequently I was adopted and I've known nothing but love and consideration since. You look on me with envy, Zabini; because I have an idyllic life now. And I'm strong because I can deal with the crap in the past and put it behind me; hardly ever think about it. And I have a loving daddy and three loving mummies because Krait is kind enough to share with mummy and Dione and that helps me be strong. Strength is about knowing that you are loved by family and friends; and that's why Voldemort was a sad little git because he wanted to subject people to his will rather than having friends."

Zabini's thoughts were jumbled and filled with anger and jealousy.

"You saying your stepdad never beat on you?" he said.

"Never; REAL men don't" said Mimi. "Yours have I take it? Your mum isn't married right now is she?"

"No; but there's always men around." Said Zabini "They all want her because she's beautiful."

"And rich" said Mimi cynically. "Like you; Greengrasse finds the bulge in your robes that's full of galleons a REAL aphrodisiac. I know; dad's warned us because we're all loaded too because of Krait getting her hands on Voldemort's loot. Even with what's in trust for her little brother and sister. Only dad and the mums are all pretty austere people so lots of people don't realise and we don't get lionised for it as much as people like you. You're quite lucky in your year 'cos there's only Greengrasse and Safell in Slyther, one Raver and the two Huffer girls looking at you with arithmantic zeal; Erica is richer than you, Clem is kind of able to draw on the Malfoy too, Jaska thinks you're a git and Meliandra isn't exactly fond of you either and I 'spect she'll marry Gorbrin anyway 'cos they're close friends and that's a better basis for marriage than all the so-called loooove silly girls go on about."

"Yeah; she's a blood traitor."

"Idiot! She can see past WHAT he is to WHO he is; Lucius says that he realised that being racist was actually rather foolish because it was failing to look at facts and make use of all resources; like the people in the old days who thought women didn't have brains at all and Lucius HATES above all things to feel foolish. When the facts bear out that goblins and elves are capable of performing as well as humans then ignoring that is like trying to say that the sun rises in the west. You can say that goblins and elves perform as well as humans and it isn't fair because I don't want them too because I don't think they ought to be able to; and when I say it out loud I bet you're feeling hot about the face at how jolly childish it sounds."

"Well you don't even look like an elf!" said Zabini.

Quite what bearing that had on it was a little obscure. Mimi shrugged.

"I stand as tall as I can – which isn't very – and I take a pride in my appearance; and I don't cringe and I don't have fear and resentment in my eyes; and I smile a lot because I'm happy and I walk with self confidence. THAT's why I don't look like an elf. Polly's the same; and she was born free too. Cuh, I'm glad I've perfected my animagus-like form for the ball though, it's a better size for dancing; I'd be puzzled as to how to dance with anyone outsize like you human types otherwise" she said "My mum lives in that form most of the time; it's more convenient. Well you don't think dad would sleep with her if she was small enough to be hurt, do you?"

He shrugged.

"How would I know? Men like to hurt women."

"Not real men; I keep telling you. Why, do YOU want to hurt women Zabini? If so, I'd ask yourself why. Do you want to punish your mum by proxy for putting men and wealth over you and whassisface, er, Blaise?"

"You shut up! You have no idea!" shouted Zabini.

"Don't I? I hope not. But I rather fancy I do. Now, did you want anything else? Only we had rather a heavy party inviting the new levels of marauders in for their superb helium gas jape – among other things – and I could do with a cup of tea and to put my feet up."

Zabini had half grinned despite himself over the helium jape; the head's voice had been hilarious.

He nodded.

"All right; I guess I'm glad you have a code over amortentia and the like" he said; and swung off.

"Well whaddya know?" muttered Mimi to herself "He's a ruddy victim!"

The two new groups of Marauders were feeling particularly buoyant and decided to celebrate by getting up a concert for the whole school, involving participation from anyone else of their own years that felt like it.

This led, in the second, to Magnus Weasley volunteering to help behind the scenes – getting him voted a capital fellow – and Genevieve Harris condescending to play the flute to add some tone to the proceedings for all the world, as U-may giggled, as though she was a ruddy Ravenclaw. Solon Bullivant added his mite of aid to Magnus, who was a friend of his. The Hufflepuffs giggled a lot and said 'ooh they couldn't' and if they were hurt that Nathan took that at face value the rest of the group considered that their own fault; and of the Ravenclaws Wendy Waffling and Isis Pince volunteered to help out so long as they did not have to perform. And that, as Jingjie said, was fine, though they were welcome to join in any choruses.

In the first, McLaggan started to try to take over and organise the whole show; and the marauders stuffed him head first, boneless and under langlock into a cupboard in disgust. Alcippe and Lycidice volunteered of course; and so did Julian Bode, a rather quieter seer than Hazel Spikenard, who found his occasional visions faintly embarrassing and was glad that nobody in his class turned a hair when he stood up in class in the middle of the week and said,

"Behold, the pack leader is come that makes the wolves no more! Only the Ferret can steal away the wolves by making the pack leader his follower!" and sat down again; and had to be told what he had said and done.

Lilith had rejoiced; Jade would never succumb to any wiles from Von Frettchen!

Julian preferred not to perform either; he was afraid something might trigger one of his visions right in front of the whole school. And it was for Julian's sake that the first abandoned the idea of doing a sketch satirising dramatic seers to poke more fun at Hazel.

In Slytherin the stable triangle plus Maia Pleiades and Gareth Rookwood were prepared to do what they might; Gareth was a bit of a loner still but it was nice that the marauders and their other friends were better than civil to him. Only Michelle Makepiece was declaring that this was childish too.

"Cuh" said Lilith "And there was me thinking a campaigner for rights could use the stage as a platform for political agitation with a witty poem or song. Oh hang about, I suppose witty is childish as that's your favourite adjective."

Michelle flushed; but she could hardly accuse Lilith, whose sister was an elf, of racism.

The Hufflepuffs volunteered to a man; and Sextus volunteered Drusilla MacMillan and Abelard Pomfrey to work with him and Lycidice and Venus and Paris in a formation flying display. Drusilla and Abelard were the star turns and much needed on the Hufflepuff first quidditch team such that their second seven must take its own chances; and Lycidice made up for her lack of talent magically in her ability on a broom that had her in the Gryffindor second team.

Of the Ravenclaws the two other boys and Fenella Crawford volunteered; so there were good numbers for a show.

Lilith and U-may devised a comedy turn based on U-may's experiences with the snake charmer in India; they scrounged all the baskets they could and at first all the audience could see were baskets with lids – often rather makeshift – and the sound of haunting pipe music. The lids began to lift; and then the other curtain drew back to reveal Lilith and U-may playing pipes whilst in snake form – which had necessitated charming the pipes since snakes do NOT have the right sort of mouths nor yet fingers for the holes – whilst out of the baskets rose other members of the Marauders with dippy expressions on their faces, swaying in time to the music.

This was followed by a chorus; the Marauders explaining that they thought people might like to hear the song they used to enchant hydrogen into being helium. They sang, with gusto, for 'The Irish Washerwoman' is a lively jig,

"Fusion reaction that's potent and magical

it is cold fusion so will not be tragical

transfiguration of molecules small

from weight one to weight four and we're having a ball!

Hydrogen gas is entirely too flammable

We need to mix it by means that are whammable

Crush it together and make it combine

Into helium gas that is our wish sublime

Hydrogen gas has a one proton nucleus

Which for a start we must duplicateus

Add on two neutrons oh isn't it fun

Then we have helium and we are done!"

They had also prepared enough helium gas to sing it through again in the Donald Duck voice just because it was funny.

The audience surreptitiously checked their own voices and were relieved to find that the only ones affected were the ones on stage!

Next was the broom display because if the gas had not dissipated they didn't need their voices at all.

Genevieve got polite applause for her flute playing next.

It was perhaps unkind of the marauders to have her followed by Lilith singing 'walking in the air' a signature piece of her family; providing her own musical interludes with her flute.

That brought the audience to its feet and had Amos Leroy wondering again that the Snapes should waste the talent the family had just on chanting and mucking about at school.

Leroy was never going to learn.

Alcippe next gave a riding lesson on a horse that consisted of Nathan and Isambard with rather droopy wings; and horseplay was very much the order of the sketch which finally had to be abandoned because both riding instructor and horse were giggling too much.

Nathan also did a Convolvumort sketch with Isambard as Tuurd the troll and Maia Pleiades as Leaky the house elf and Michelle Makepeace briefly interrupting to scream that it was degrading to elves.

Lilith stood up from the chorus.

"No it isn't you idiot; the point was to show how people like Voldemort degraded everyone elves and all!" she said "My little auntie Rose is a half elf not the easy way like you are, but because my git of a grandfather screwed an elf and didn't care if she died or not! You know NOTHING of degrading because even your slavery was pretty damn soft by comparison to a lot! You don't do the cause of equality any favours by screeching without knowledge or employing brain before you open mouth to shove in foot! Now shut up or sod off!"

"Ten points from Slytherin for egregiously bad language I'm afraid" said Padfoot from the audience "Miss Makepeace you are out of order; please refrain from ill informed outburst."

Makepeace subsided muttering.

"She is SUCH a silly creature" sighed Mimi to Zabini, who she found herself next to "One tries to be sorry for her but I'd as soon jinx her into a ball."

"Well we agree on one thing" said Zabini.

Convolvumort glared at the audience and added, rather extempore,

"And when I have ULTIMATE POWER I shall CRUSH and obliteeriate completely ALL theatre critics and turn them into something amusing and peculiar! And after critics I shall also deal with opera singers except they're already something peculiar" he could not resist the dig at Leroy who flounced off in dudgeon.

The chorus sang again, and produced 'Modern Hogwarts Potioneer', 'There's a Zombie in my Attic' and 'My Old Man's a Desplincher' encouraging the audience to join in.

"What in the name of all that's wonderful is an agelast?" asked Zabini, of a line in the 'potioneer' song.

"Someone who never laughs" said Mimi "A slander on daddy but funny because he's very good at stern."

"Yeah, I remember" said Zabini.

The concert finished up with the 'Cauldron Monster Song' which meant less to those children who had come since Severus Snape had left to go to Prince Peak; but stories about him did linger!

The staff could not in any way complain that such frivolities as concerts and helium japes in any way interfered with class work since the marauders tended to be at least 'E' grade students in most of their classes, even Jayashree in Hufflepuff. Lilith had her own suspicions that Jayashree had ended up in Hufflepuff to be with Mohini, whose name came up first, so that two little Indian girls could be together in a strange land; and intended to encourage Jayashree to be a singularly unHufflepuffish Hufflepuff. It had worked out to their advantage however, in being in the position to be the first group ever of Marauders to have at least one member in every house.

Professor Dumbledore did not mention how much this delighted him too!

He might have been less delighted to hear the Striped Marauders discussing their next jape; Lilith proposing that they steal the Quidditch pitch so it disappeared.

"Don't be daft; how are we supposed to do that half pint?" said Sextus.

Lilith giggled.

"Well of course we don't ACTUALLY steal it" she said "But if we enclose the area in a chant – the volume, rather – and then stick it under the Fidelius Charm no-one but us will be able to see it until the secret-keeper chooses to cancel the spell."

"I say! That's a nice piece of lateral thinking" said Gennar.

Lilith spent several minutes explaining the Fidelius Charm to those who did not know and the group voted to leave that to next term to spread out japes so that the staff shouldn't get too waxy.

It was nice to have a jape in reserve.

Zabini went to see Madam Hardbroom.

Connie was rather equivocal about Darryl Zabini.

On the one hand he was a brilliant young potioneer, almost in Gorbrin's and Ming's class, and only below them for lacking the readiness to experiment and take on new ideas. On the other hand he was inclined to be trouble for his racism.

"Madam Hardbroom, I think I might be under the influence of a potion" said Zabini.

Madam Hardbroom blinked.

"Indeed? Do you know who might have given you such?"

"I – I'd rather not say" said Zabini "If I am, I'd like to deal with it myself. Only can I ask you about effects and see if I am?"

"You may certainly ask" said Connie.

"We all know about love potions; but is it possible to make one that draws you to someone without actually wanting to be drawn; someone you don't even like?"

"Not so far as I know" said Connie "Dear me, that would be remarkably subtle; if indeed it is possible. And I do not THINK it is."

"Would – would professor Snape be able to?" asked Zabini, greatly daring.

Connie's face worked slightly but she managed as kindly a smile as she could for this troublesome boy.

"If it is possible, Professor Snape would know certainly" she said. "He was your house master before I came; would you like me to arrange to talk to him by floo this evening?"

"Oh would you ma'am? I should be grateful" said Zabini.

Zabini repeated his explanation to the grim scarred face in the greenish flames after tea.

Severus frowned in thought.

"If it were a potion it would be very subtle indeed; and I have to say, still subject to negation by Liberamore Major. Ask Madam Hardbroom for a dose in any case; though any potioneer capable of brewing such a draught would KNOW that Liberamore Major would counter and that anyone suspeting being manipulated would take it. I suspect, Mr Zabini, you are subject to an older potion that only nature brews; teenage hormones."

"I – oh, do you think so? Only it seems odd to feel, well drawn to someone and then also dislike them."

"Oh not at all, Mr Zabini; we've all been there" said Severus "And suffered all the painful and embarrassing effects like having a hard on for no apparent reason; or on looking at a particular girl, even one you don't generally speaking fancy just because the way she moves sets up a train of thought in that embarrassing parallel mind we have that men learn to control better than boys in the throes of growing up, the one that lurks below the trousers and thinks things that we'd rather it didn't. Generally there are two reasons that one might feel partiality on the one hand and repulsion on the other; firstly the fact that the attraction is true but the growing up process leads to the emphasis of the more childish characteristics of each that repel. I cite you Lily Evans and James Potter who screeched at each other continually through school and then got married – very happily – and became the parents of Harry Potter. The other reason is that the attraction is largely physical and your mind militates against the attraction and the small things that would normally make you shrug and merely not like the girl involved loom large because your subconscious mind WANTS her to be likeable. Unless of course you're attracted to someone who isn't born of a wizarding family."

"I – no she isn't" said Zabini.

"Ah" said Severus. "That was why I missed my chance with Lily Evans; she was a mudblood, as I had been taught to call the muggleborn. I was very confused about my feelings for her; ended up pushing her away. I got lucky; I had a second chance but I regretted for years treating her badly. Did you want to tell me who, or would that embarrass you as I know all your year?"

"I – she isn't in my year but it would embarrass me" said Zabini hastily.

"Well, so long as she is of nubile age and you're not getting feelings for weevils I'd say it was perfectly normal; though hellishly uncomfortable for you of course" said Severus "And I am glad you've the common sense to want to talk about it. If it's a matter of her background I think you need to ask yourself what it is about her background you dislike; and why. If like me, you're only parroting what you've been taught then you need to grow enough backbone to find out for yourself and make up your own mind. If, like Mr Dell, you've had a bad experience – he had a death threat from a muggle in his early years – you have reason and need to examine whether the individual who has caused you problems is an isolate example rather than typical. You're a clever youth, Mr Zabini; too clever to let yourself be used and led like a sheep to the views people want you to have. And if you end up still in the belief that non wizards and non humans are inferior then at least you have found some logic to support that; and it will be YOUR idea. I cannot but think that any arguments of that kind are spurious; but I will not tell you what to think. Merely how to behave under the discipline of the school. I have a suggestion to make, for what it's worth."

"Sir?"

"Get two pieces of paper; and on one write down what you like about this girl. On the other, write down what you dislike. Weigh them both up and see which is more compelling than the other. Of the dislikes, consider if there are any that could be changed; I mean, if she picks her nose in public you could ask her not to, though that tends to be a boy's vice more than a girl's. If she has a screechy voice suggest she go to the chanting class and ask Tony – uh, Professor Queach – to help her modify it. If she's a goblin, she can't change that; and then you need to think if you can either consider her an exception to you normal views or whether your normal views are mistaken. Then you can decide whether or not to invite this wretched girl to the Yule Ball – as I suspect you're wondering about. I'm fishing in the dark here for not knowing the girl in question you understand; but I hope I'm able to give some fair examples?"

"Thank you sir; I think it's a good idea. And I do thank you for giving me time; especially as you don't like me."

Severus shrugged.

"I don't like your ideals or your attitude. I shouldn't be surprised if at times you're rather miserable, Mr Zabini; and not just as a result that my most talented daughter is a weevil right now and doubtless making a flaming nuisance of herself."

Zabini managed a grin.

"I bet the helium gas jape was her idea" he said, and quickly explained.

Severus chuckled.

"Little HORRORS!" he said "We came across the notebook of a Weasley long gone from Hogwarts with a number of jinxes in it….and a few skiving potions. Lilith was reading it avidly; but I washed my hands. She's Professor Dumbledore's problem in term time. I'm sorry; I'm tremendously proud of all my children. And I believe that of the older two who are at Hogwarts, you could talk to them about anything if you tell them I asked them nicely to listen; they won't blab. Or any of Lydia's male marauder friends for that matter. Mimi's lot are all girls unless they've expanded sine the beginning of term. But Chad, Mad, Leo and Mort are good lads."

"Gosh sir, my mum doesn't even know if I've got friends let alone any names!" blurted Zabini.

"So that's why you and Blaise are so sullen is it? No attention at home? I can't say I ever got on with Blaise; you at least have brains."

"I can cast wandlessly an wordlessly sir; I taught myself. But I'm used to shifting for myself, Mimi was right, I was palmed off onto servants and they were all stupid and useless and I despise them because they were just snivelling fools!"

"Alas, a lot of servants can be – whatever their race" said Severus "Once people accept servitude, or have servitude thrust upon them, it is hard for them to have self respect. And I suspect you find it hard to have self respect being – what, elf-reared?"

Zabini nodded.

"Yes" he said.

"So if you put down the inferiors that raised you, it's easier to feel that you have risen above them I suppose" said Severus. "But I suspect they cared only for your physical well being; you reared yourself. And that is not easy; believe me, THAT I know, because you get all the muddled, infant ideas of what's right and what's wrong set in your head without any adequate parent figure to shift them or correct them; and then you're at school and judged on those ideas and then you fight back and become the pariah and join a gang of bullies because if you can make some of those who sneer at you feel one down you then feel one up."

"Gosh sir, how did you know?"

Severus smiled sadly.

"Because I described my own experiences. I had a violent father and a sullen mother who regretted having had me. I managed to get over it. I hope, Mr Zabini, you manage to get over it sooner than I did."

"How old were you then?"

"I, Mr Zabini, was thirty four years of age before I really got over it" said Severus. "Of course, I'd had my head mucked with by Voldemort in the meantime that did not exactly help; but when we get locked into the pernicious path of personal perfidy and self destruction it is hard to break away. Resentment tastes like stale vomit to chew upon but we can't resist doing so. If you're as strong as I suspect you may be, you will examine all the things you resent as objectively as possible and see if you can't see if any have moulded you; and if you want to break away from something negative doing that moulding. I hope that's of help?"

"It is sir; and thank you again, and thanks for using a second lot of floo powder to keep talking" said Zabini.

"You're welcome; your year and those above, and even the year below are still very much my kids" said Severus. "Always feel free to ask Connie to talk to me; or write me a letter."

"Yessir" said Zabini.

The flame flickered and returned to its normal colour.

The boy had a lot to reflect on.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Gorbrin had put in as much time as he had spare to finish his filigree brooch that had the appearance of snowflakes of different sizes superimposed over each other, set with tiny diamonds to sparkle like frost. It did not look like a goblin made piece for being entirely original and drawn directly from nature with little enough stylisation. Several of the others had also finished one of their two pieces and Professor Jorbal suggested an impromptu display. Most had been working on one of their pieces since the previous year, so they would have time to put in for the second piece through the spring term.

They set out their pieces in the great hall, ready to let the rest of the school examine on the morrow.

Erica had produced a silver and gold unicorn scuplture that wandered around, reared, and, being imbued with the essence of Severia bloom, made people feel good. Meliandra, being practical, had made measuring callipers that varied from micrometer size to foot rule size, that displayed the precise measurement of what they were being used on. Jazka made a clockwork phoenix that lit the fire; Mischa had made a nail paring tool that would shrink to be suitable for pekes or increase to the size of a large dog; Stacey had stuck to a clockwork musical box playing 'Cauldron full of Hot Strong Love' as a present for her mother; Pearl had made a timer to be set for various potions to hint when another stage was due, because she thought it was useful, not being a great potioneer able to tell by colour or feel. Gorbrin found it incomprehensible that you would need to be TOLD when to add the next ingredient but had helped Pearl out by giving her a good average time for each of the useful potions she included in the timer, and reflected that any user of it would never produce more than sadly average potions.

Since to Pearl average potions were not to be considered sad she rejoiced.

Hadrian had managed to go one better than Mischa in his veterinarian tools, coming up with a device that, once a dragon was sedated, would expand to fit the dragon's mouth simultaneously detecting and drilling any cavities and injecting them with the magical equivalent of dental filler.

Meliandra might be heard to mutter why anyone would want to make a dragon's teeth even better was beyond her; but that was Hadrian.

Albert had laboured long on his piece too and had come up with a mechanical calculator; that only by the application of goblin magic and the ability of part of it to exist somewhere else could it be made portable. Lydia, looking over the younger class's efforts early and in sheer nosiness was heard to murmur something about someone called Babbage and a differencing engine; and Albert glowed with pride because that was indeed how his calculator worked.

"And a nice piece of work it is too, MacMillan and likely, if you continue to refine upon it, to make your name one of arithmantic legend almost as great as Madam Wenlock's" said Lydia "Because you can use that, with a bit of tinkering, to produce prime numbers above what's easy to do longhand; and to work out high number factorials that might or might not be useful and – well, all sorts!"

Albert was delighted!

Lydia actually reckoned that Albert's piece was by far and away the most useful piece of all the exhibits.

Ming had gone for flamboyant. Ming had produced a device to automatically mix and fold into paper containers simple fireworks, and could be set to do any one of three different kinds of firework. He was planning to market it to the Weasley brothers who already had trouble keeping up with demand.

Hugin Corbin had made a knife that expanded into scissors; Jordan Christie had made a key that shaped itself to any lock and Silvester Crouch-Jones had made a cauldron-mounted boil alarm that screeched just before the liquid started boiling, in the hopes that it might save his skin if only Madam Hardbroom let him use it.

In the morning when the young metalworkers got ready to demonstrate their masterpieces to the rest of the school Pearl cried out in horror.

Her timing device had been smashed to smithereens.

The others gathered round and other members of the second bloodgroup started turning up. Mischa, already there had his big comforting arms around her; and in lieu of a boyfriend of her own Pearl sobbed into the half giant's chest.

"Who could be so MEAN?" cried Erica.

"Plenty I can think of would be so mean to any of us goblins" said Gorbrin grimly "But who could have it in for Pearl? She's a nice girl whose about as inoffensive as you can get without being wet!"

"Heard what you said, old man, but knew what you meant" said Ross, who had come to his bloodkin.

Gorbrin shrugged.

"Well, so many people you can't think of anything to dislike about don't have enough personality to be much" he said "Plenty of personality to Pearl, all decent. Clever too. This is sick."

"I say" said Mischa "I wonder if someone thought it was yours, Gorbrin, because of being potion-oriented?"

"Well that's silly" said Gorbrin "No true potioneer would use anything like that!"

"Yeah" said Albert "You know that; and I'm not a true potioneer though I've learned to be half good from you: and I know that. But someone who does it by rote might not realise that you do it by feel. Pearl didn't!"

"He has a point" said Ming. "Actually he really DOES have a point; and that does argue against it being Zabini, who is one of the suspects that leaps to mind if you WERE the intended victim, brother mine."

"It is the only thing that makes sense" said Gorbrin slowly "For I CANNOT see that anyone could hate Pearl."

"What's to be done about it sir?" said Ming to a white-faced Professor Jorbal "We can all write affidavits that we saw it working before it was feloniously smashed; if you'll add your affidavit too. And if we all rally round and mend it for her, that could be presented and the affidavits as evidence of why it isn't any more all her own work."

Jorbal nodded.

"Yes; yes, a good idea, Mr Chang" he said "I – I'll go this very day to the examination board. I – would you go to Professor Dumbledore and tell him what has happened? In light of this I don't think it fair to show the rest off to the school."

"No sir; it seems rather callous" said Gorbrin "We'll just have a grand display after the OWLs, of both items, when it matters less what might happen to them. And Professor Dumbledore will know what to do."

Dumbledore was horrified.

"Jorbal, have you any idea who might have done this terrible thing?" he asked.

Jorbal shrugged.

"Miss Brocklehurst is a popular enough child; unless there's any jealousy issues over the wretched Ball as there may sometimes be, I cannot see that anyone would have it in for her. The pupils agree; they believe that someone thought it was Mr Malfoy-Tobak's work; a racist. Because of him being a known potioneer."

Dumbledore beckoned Gorbrin over.

"It has to be someone who ISN'T a potioneer – if I WAS the intended target sir" said Gorbrin not bothering to wait for questions. "Ming's a potioneer too; but if he's not universally popular, it's mostly his sister who wants to kill him a little bit and Mei's no mean creep, she's a marauder. I guess" he frowned "Ming HAS had his fair share of winding up the caterwauling – uh, Amos Leroy; and that's the only other suspect I can add. Because in something this serious it's not sneaking."

"Quite so, Mr Malfoy-Tobak" said Dumbledore "Adding to the shortlist of Crabbe and Zabini I presume?"

"I don't actually think Zabini would have done it – if I'm the target" said Gorbrin "He's a potioneer too."

"Of course he might find it hard to believe you really are a potioneer – and rely on goblin devices" said Dumbledore gently. Gorbrin looked surprised.

"Oh he may be a fool, but he isn't STUPID" he said.

"Alas, Gorbrin, you'd be surprised how stupid some clever men can be" said Dumbledore sadly.

"I guess we have to think who else MIGHT have been a target" said Gorbrin. "Mel? Not really. Erica? Unlikely. Jazka? Possibly, for reason of being a goblin. Mischa? Possibly, for someone who either reckons he has a grudge against Hagrid or someone who doesn't like half giants. Stacey? She's a half goblin; and someone might have a grudge against her dad; Kordach's not loved by a huge number of people. I guess you could say actually that Erica and me have Lucius against us for that matter; and Hadrian by association as being a Malfoy, but I can't think of anything else against him either. Unless you count his liking of things with too many teeth and claws. Albert? He's halfway to being a squib but the people who usually get niffy about a squib doing well are their supposedly more talented siblings, and Camilla's left. Ming I already mentioned. Hugin, I don't get on with really but there's no harm in him; Jordan's a nice lad and so is Silvester. I can see either of them IRRITATING someone; but not the extent of such vandalism."

"Lucidly summed up" said Dumbledore. "well I shall see if I can get any clues from the broken piece; I trust none of you have touched it."

"No sir; too shocked" said Gorbrin. "I suppose in some classes you might look for a jealous classmate; but I have to say, we've been a close knit class on the whole. If we'd had Hugin's twin I might have hesitated but Hugin's all right. Would Munin hit someone's work he thought was a rival to his twin's? I – no, sir, I don't think so. He's not the most convivial but he's not so mean."

"Thank you, Gorbrin; from someone who dislikes him I find that the best evidence to his innocence – as with your feelings about Zabini, though his past record means I SHALL investigate him" said Dumbledore. "Off you lot go and – oh, take the morning off and go into Hogsmeade and treat poor Pearl to butterbeer; she deserves something to cheer her up!"

Dumbledore assembled the school and informed them that the proposed display of OWL pieces from the metalworking class would not in fact now be going ahead.

"Some vile person has taken it upon his or herself to destroy the hard work of one of the entrants" said Dumbledore "In a piece of wilful malice. Professor Jorbal has fortunately got photographs of it completed and at every stage and with his sworn statement countersigned by the entire of the rest of the class it may be hoped that the examination board will be able to grade this pupil appropriately. It is of the calibre of someone tearing the written paper of an OWL candidate into shreds or disrupting a practical; either one of which acts would mean instant expulsion and the breaking of the wand. I am prepared to consider leniency if the culprit comes to me some time today; because I am prepared to accept that the person who has done this is stupid enough not to realise that these long pieces are actually tantamount to the practical portion of an exam. In the same way as it has been discussed that NEWT level potions should permit a term to be allowed to brew a potion of the potioneer's choice to permit the most talented to display their virtuosity. I leave it to your consciences if you know ANYTHING about the culprit; for laying information would go beyond sneaking. This is not naughtiness; it is criminal damage. And after this evening I shall be treating it as such and laying the matter in the hands of aurors."

"Professor, are we sure it was destroyed and didn't just fall apart for incompetent manufacture?" said Erasmus Bobbin, also in the fifth of Slytherin.

"Oh quite certain" said Dumbledore. "Why would you think it would fall apart?"

Bobbin shrugged.

"I'm assuming the work was by one of those lazy goblins" he said.

"Well Mr Bobbin, you assume wrongly" said Dumbledore mildly "And if you think someone did this to attack a goblin, then I hope whoever did it is ashamed of himself that he has destroyed the work of, if such minor things matter to him, a pure blood witch of good family. I will pursue the matter with utmost vigour as I would whoever had been the victim; but if that knowledge makes someone confess I would be the happier."

"And Bobbin just put himself on the suspect list" said Mimi, to herself.

Mimi worried about who might have done it and pulsed Gorbrin to find out whose work it had been and what it had been.

Gorbrin told her all about it including his own deliberations. Mimi nodded.

"Anyway, Zabini's got stuff on his mind right now" she said "I'm busy digging down to find out why he's racist; and so far as I can gather he got dumped a lot on inadequate servants when he was little, which isn't going to improve his world view. It took Lucius to stop you being wary of human wizards, didn't it?"

"Yes" said Gorbrin. "Anyway, though Zabini has a history of sabotage it's with spells to make trouble, not destruction. Mel caught him trying to put a hurling hex on my broom NOT trying to break or burn it. Totally different level. It's Crabbe who's managed to tear school property – admittedly by accident – and wanted to blame it on the goblins in the class. I wonder if it could be Bobbin? He's an odd sort of oik, tries to curry favour with the richest and most prominent but is willing to snigger over stories behind their back. His dad was the one who was caught for not passing out free wolfbane potion before your dad got a cure; and for trying to profit from it."

"Bit of an opportunist then; I suppose an opportunist might come in, try to guess whose is whose and smash up the wrong one for false logic; but…. Well, he's in the frame. It's a nasty business. No chance I suppose that Pearl's father stiffed someone, or someone thinks he did, and it's a revenge on him by hurting his little girl? Like Dimsie Burke?" said Mimi.

"Hadn't thought of that" said Gorbrin "She's upper sixth; when all that happened I was too young to take a lot of notice I guess! But of course it was your sister who saved her life; that does make a difference I suppose!"

Mimi nodded.

"Yes; I guess we just share information almost by osmosis!" she laughed. "Well, it's none of my business – except that I'm taking a professional interest in Zabini."

"Well best of luck with that!" said Gorbrin "If he'll come over I'll be one of the first to shake his hand; I've made up with Jack Murray and we're almost friends; I can afford to meet any man half way."

"Cheers our Gorbers!" said Mimi, neatly dodging the saponification spell Gorbrin hurled at her mouth for using the nickname he detested!

Hearing faint moans in a boy's loo, Mimi had no qualms in investigating.

Zabini was literally jinxed into a ball, and sported tiny tentacles and cactus spines.

Mimi deftly undid the rubber ball hex and the jellied furnunculous curse and the cactus curses, did a quick revellaspell and cast _episkayo_ to deal with the bruises and contusions.

"Crumbs Zabini, who happened to you?" asked Mimi.

"Those wretched upper sixth goblin girls; they bounced me around the room telling me to confess to sabotaging Brocklehurst's work in mistake for Malfoy-Tobak's. And I'll be damned if I confess to something I didn't do!" he raged.

Mimi whistled.

"They were well out of line" she said "And Arjelan's a prefect too and THAT makes it worse. If Dell was still here he'd have sat on them for want of proof; I know they feel protective to poor Pearl – the kid is in bits and I'm not surprised – but there's ways and ways to find stuff out!"

"I didn't DO it! I wouldn't tamper with someone's work; that's not on! Quidditch yes, but not WORK!"

"I know you didn't do it" said Mimi, calmly "And for what it's worth, Gorbrin told Dumbledore he was certain it wasn't you too."

Zabini stared.

"What? Why doesn't he suspect me?"

Mimi laughed.

"Because he reckoned no potioneer as good as you would assume a device to time making potions would be made by another potioneer like him."

"Oh. Is that what was smashed? Well of course Malfoy wouldn't make something like that, he don't need it. If he made anything for potioneering it would be something like a – a knife that chopped automatically to a given size, the mechanical sort of stuff. I'd have him down for either the ridiculously mundanely practical or something frivolous and decorative."

Mimi laughed.

"You'd have picked up on the filigree brooch with the shield charm embedded then; a gift for his muggle mother. The mundanely practical one is so complex he's spending more time on it and using new arithmantic research. Are you all right now?"

"Yes. Er, thanks, Snape"

"You're welcome; I don't like any kind of unfairness and injustice. Excuse me; I have a prefect and her crony to perform felonious magic on" said Mimi "And I guess at that they'd rather I jinxed them into balls than that I ratted them up to Lionel. Especially Arjelan; she's one of his three girlfriends and as he's now officially an auror that's NOT a good trait to have in one of your wives."

"Three? What does he think he is, Lucius?"

Mimi grinned.

"He IS a kind of secondhand Malfoy. He loves them all equally; and couldn't choose. Fair enough. Not like dad; see he adores Krait, but only loves mummy and Dione. They'd both had a hard deal you see and needed love big time; and it made mummy strong enough to be one of those who ended up with the zig-zag scar. But dad and Krait reckon they've been lucky to find each other so sharing is fair do's. He's not a bit of a tart like Lucius and Lionel you see"

Zabini laughed.

"And I bet you call Lucius a bit of a tart to his face!" he said.

"Oh yes; Draco calls him 'the bitch magnet' and gets his ears boxed for it" she said. "And we all disclaim any sympathy when Lucius claims to be henpecked; serve him right!" she gave a rueful grin "Lucius is just more honest about it than some men I guess; and he DOES at least consult his present wives before taking another."

"And Narcissa Black-Malfoy actually consented to a goblin wife?"

"Narcissa loves Tanjela" said Mimi "She loves Charlotte, the muggle, because Charlotte, ignored by Voldemort, saved Draco's life at the big battle; and it made her think. And she sees now past race. They are a powerful team because they have different outlooks. And now there's Finn too; and Neville Longbottom teasing Lucius that he needs a centaurette next as his, er, mane squeeze."

"Ow" groaned Zabini. "IS he likely to?"

"Not hardly" scoffed Mimi. "Can't guarantee he won't have a fifth wife; Lucius IS rather susceptible. But he hasn't picked them for being different race. It just happened that way. Anyway! I have to irritate Arjelan and Cholaka."

Mimi walked into the Gryffindor senior common room.

She had not bothered to go past the fat lady but just apported.

"Oy! Slytherin brat!" said Freya.

"I'm here about dishonour in the Gryffindor sixth; I can get it off my chest in here or I can bring it up in the prefects' common room in front of other houses" said Mimi calmly "Your choice, Tuthill."

"What is this?" said Freya, sharply, not liking the idea of a Slytherin calling a senior Gryffindor to book; and as Mimi was a marauder this would not be any trivial business.

"I think that people who beat on a suspect who's only one of a number of suspects and tell him to confess are despicable; and the one who wants to marry an auror should think long and hard, Arjelan, about what an auror would think of that" said Mimi coldly "Accepting that you're upset because your bloodkin was hurt by it, bear in mind it was probably aimed at MY bloodkin; and Gorbrin himself said he has good reason to think it ISN'T Zabini. And unless you've got something more compelling than that he doesn't like Goblins, that's no good reason to put anyone to torture. And actually, putting anyone to torture is pretty loathsome I think."

"Hey, we didn't put him to torture!" said Cholaka.

"Oh? What else do you call bouncing someone around the toilet walls and saying that you'll stop if he confesses?" said Mimi "And I _episkayo_'d his bruises; so don't tell me any different!"

Arjelan and Cholaka exchanged glances.

"We – I say, Snape, we didn't think about it being torture" said Arjelan "We were so angry for Pearl!"

"And that's fair enough; picking on one of the three main suspects is not, just because you caught him alone because he's a bit down right now – and it's none of your business why either" said Mimi.

"Why are you sticking up for him? He's tried to bully you!" said Cholaka.

"I'm hard enough not to give a toss; and he's a fellow Slytherin and an innocent party. That might be a rare occurrence but I consider Gorbrin's reasons for discounting him valid."

"What are they?"

"He's a potioneer. Y'think he'd reckon that thing of Pearl's would be built by Gorbrin?"

"Oh. I see" said Arjelan, herself a potioneer of note. She looked at Cholaka "We owe the racist little swipe an apology."

"Thank you; that's big" said Mimi "I think he's back in the common room; I'll ask him to meet you outside."

Zabini looked up as Mimi approached.

"Arjelan and Cholaka want to say something to you; I'll come along if you like" said Mimi.

"What, they've convinced you to believe them?" Zabini sneered.

"No, actually; I screeched at them about conduct unbecoming" said Mimi. "Are you a man to listen or are you going to sulk like a toddler?"

Zabini scowled and came with her.

"We owe you an apology, Zabini" said Arjelan.

"We were out of line" said Cholaka "And offer in mitigation that we were upset for Pearl; she's a part of our set. We acted in unseemly and Gryffindorish haste."

"And quite deserving of the Slytherin-bestowed epithet of being beef witted" said Arjelan "And we should have gotten some facts right before we leaped to conclusions. And we were out of line whether you'd done it or not, actually" she added.

Zabini nodded.

"All right" he said "I accept the apology. I still don't like goblins."

"We still don't like racists" said Cholaka "But it's better to get our ongoing war fought on a level playing field."

"Crumbs, Gan Gorjak, mix a few more metaphors, why don't you?" said Mimi "You Gryffs ought to be had up for the cold blooded murder of the English tongue; anyone would take you for a Weasley!"

"Only more Brummigan" said Zabini. The goblin girls were both from Birmingham.

"Could be worse" said Mimi "If they were from Newcastle you couldn't tell if they were apologising or trying to hire your body."

"Oy, Slytherin swipe!" said Cholaka.

Mimi grinned.

The irrelevancies had cleared the air quite nicely; and they were able to nod to the Gryffindor seniors and let them go on their way.

"Did you threaten them to make them apologise?" asked Zabini.

"No Zabini; I didn't have to. I pointed out that they were torturing you and they volunteered to apologise off their own bat" said Mimi "Because they really are decent types. They have a group, a bit like the marauders, that is as close as kin; and Pearl is one of the babies of the group because they don't have a permanently rolling group like we do. To them it's like it's been done to a little sister. They over-reacted massively. Wouldn't Blaise over react if someone hurt you badly?"

"Not hardly! He'd be more likely to laugh!"

Mimi gasped.

"Darryl, that's horrible!" she said. "Who's there to stand by you if your own BROTHER won't?"

"He's not much of a brother; why should he be? I was born just after he started Hogwarts. We don't even KNOW each other."

"Huh, that's no excuse; my sister Lily was born right after I got to Hogwarts, and Charis arrived this September and Krait had Merope last year and we had an owl last week that Dione had safely birthed Humphrey; and her Remus was born after I started school. And I haven't met Humphrey and Charis yet, but I'm looking forward to it, and Remus and Lily and Merope are darlings and I love to spend holiday time with them!"

"Crumbs when does your dad find time to teach?" said Zabini. Mimi giggled.

"It does sound a bit excessive, doesn't it?" she said "Even though they DO use potions to spread them out a bit. Krait wanted a long family; Remus was a failed batch of potion Dione cooked up, but not loved any the less for that, and mummy just loves having babies that are born free. I love having lots of brothers and sisters!"

"Well lucky you and whoop-de-do" said Zabini

"Oh well if you want to just do jealous snippy that's your loss; screw you" said Mimi.

"Sorry" it was a mutter.

"Accepted" said Mimi.

Cholaka and Arjelan were not the only ones to suspect Zabini; and Crabbe for that matter, but the two had worked together in the past.

Zabini found himself at best ignored and at worst spat at and jinxed by sundry children especially Ravenclaws.

He glowered, put up shield spells and tried to ignore it.

"WE keep TELLING them we don't suspect another potioneer" said Ming Chang loudly in public to Zabini; Gorbrin was with him. "But some people are too stupid to count their fingers and toes let alone facts."

"The problem is, you've a record of racism; and the only reason we could think of anyone's work being destroyed is that someone thought I'd need a silly – er, an aide memoir to brew with" said Gorbrin. "As poor Pearl does and I guess it's useful to those that can't feel."

"You already dug the hole with a word like 'silly' you Malfoy lout, I suggest you shut up and jump in it" said Ming.

"Well I know it isn't silly for Pearl; but it would be for me….. putting spade away" said Gorbrin "It's the time and effort she's put into it that makes us all feel sick to the stomach."

"Like I told Snape; I wouldn't touch someone else's work" said Zabini "Parkinson was happy to interfere with schoolwork but I never had anything to do with that. I might give someone a wrong equation if they were too lazy to look it up for themselves; but that's it. I'm not one that made another boy's cauldron explode; Brocklehurst should look in her own house perhaps."

"Well the one you're thinking of IS on the highly suspicious list" said Ming "Together with an outspoken racist and a couple of brothers who lie low enough after their oldest brother got expelled for really despicable behaviour; but I think they're too shrewd to open themselves to expulsion. Especially the younger one. And Mr Outspoken did rather open himself to suspicion. I don't like you Zabini; but I think that treating anyone like they're guilty without any more than vague, uninformed suspicion is pretty damn childish; and I think you're innocent of this anyway. So do all the Marauders; and so too do the other group now."

Lilith was one of those listening and she had to grin that Ming used the word 'childish' since Michelle Makepeace had declared it had to be Zabini as everyone knew what he was like.

Mimi came up to Zabini.

"Look here" she said "I think the best way you can scotch all this crap is to ask Pearl Brocklehurst to the Ball; she hasn't got a full time boyfriend. Then everyone will see there's peace between you and her, 'cos if she thought you'd trashed up her work she'd never go with you."

Zabini gave her a twisted smile.

"Oh, there will be those that say she is nice enough to forgive me because I thought it was someone else's" he said "And those who say I can make like I didn't destroy her work because supposedly I didn't know it was hers or – you know what I mean!"

"Actually I do, even if you did sound rather like a Gryffindor in that turbulently incomprehensible period" said Mimi.

"There's no need to be that insulting!" said Zabini. "I suppose I ought to go with one of Malfoy's sisters."

"That would be a possibility" said Mimi. "If you can bring yourself to dance with a goblin."

"Frankly the idea makes me shudder; their long fingers give me the heeby jeebies" said Zabini.

"Well perhaps it's better not looking like you're trying not to shudder" said Mimi.

"Have YOU got a partner yet?" asked Zabini abruptly.

"No; I haven't been looking" said Mimi "I've been a bit busy sodding around worrying about your worries."

"Well, how about you going with me then? You said you can be taller; I don't want to break my back."

Mimi shimmered into her human-animagus form; five feet tall, still petite but within human range, her head remaining the exact same size, and therefore now in proportion with her new body. She was shapelier too for the humanity of the form; elves were never particularly curvy. Her dark hair falling in ringlets past her shoulders now framed a face that looked more natural; and her high cheekbones and large dark almond shaped eyes gazed into his from only slightly below his own face, enabling Zabini to appreciate its proportions better and to realise what a piquant and gamine little face it was; and yet filled too with a serene beauty.

Zabini gasped.

"You should keep it like that!" he said in a low tone "It – It suits you."

Mimi grinned.

"I get a less silly voice too" she said in a much deeper timbre. "It feels amazingly more natural, actually; and I do half wonder if, when the high sidhe cursed the house elves – and incidentally there own low sidhe servants – with the obedience curse they might not have tampered a little with the form. Unless that's something they already did. Bigger than pixies and so on to be actually useful; small enough to literally look down on. I guess I am mildly racist; against the High Sidhe. They've done a fair bit of mischief. I'd try not to judge an individual; and actually one of my adopted brothers is High Sidhe, though I tend to forget that."

"Well I guess I'm glad you're not Miss Perfect" said Zabini rudely and took himself off.

"Crumbs!" said Mimi to herself "I rather think I'm playing with fire!"

She did however make a note to collect such elves as she trusted utterly not to blurt anything out and use Lilith's twenty-three factorial calculations to draw out a complete genetic picture of them; and see if she could see any tinkering that had been done in the past to force a different form on them!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Alastor Moody himself came to the school in response to both Dumbledore's request; and also because a letter had been written.

"A child has written to me that she is certain she know who has destroyed a piece of work in the mistaken belief that it was done by a goblin" he said "She says he is racist."

"And why, one wonders, did this little madam write to you not come to me?" asked Dumbledore.

"She claims that as a half elf she feels put upon by all the school and that she thought you would believe the word of your secret police over herself" said Alastor.

"My WHAT?" said Dumbledore.

"Her description" said Alastor dryly. "Albus, you know with adopting Rose Riddle as I have, I have some bias towards a half elf."

"She's from that group with the three muggle mothers Draco heaved out" said Dumbledore having no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that it was Michelle Makepeace who was the writer. "Her older half brother is militantly anti slavery; but he at least has the sense he was born with; and nicer manners. Who's she accusing?"

"A boy called Zabini; Abigail was at school with a creep called Blaise Zabini."

"And that goes into your head in a negative way. The younger brother Darryl has made enough racist remarks and comments to earn him being jinxed into a ball regularly; but recently I fancy the Marauders have begun to make a project of him. Besides, the boy who was the supposed victim, Gorbrin Malfoy-Tobak, says no potioneer would have supposed HIM to be the originator of the piece destroyed; Gorbrin's a fine potioneer and so is the boy Zabini. And Gorbrin also says it's not his style. That lad has his head screwed on; he's planning on joining his brother Draco in your office in a couple of years, him and his girlfriend. They're letting me run the investigation but I suspect they're doing their own gathering of evidence. Half the information Lucius dropped on your desk about goblin coursing came from their industrious snooping over various holidays."

"Did it by Merlin! I fancy I'd like to meet those two for longer than the brief greeting I expect I've had with them!"

Gorbrin explained concisely why he thought that he was the most likely victim – being a lesser being and more stinking rich than most jealous racists – with Stacey as second most likely and Mischa third.

"Pearl's parents are really nobody to annoy anyone" he said "They argue a lot with each other but don't go anywhere much. I'm certain she was NOT the intended target. That it was smashed violently shows a lot of hate; but the breaking of bits that hold it together deliberately and I think after the main smash argues for malice and spite. Zabini's malicious but not spiteful. I can't know who's out to get a daughter of Kordach; and so far as I'm aware, Hagrid hasn't put anyone's back up. Unless…." He hesitated "There's a fourth year Ravenclaw who we don't really understand; I can see him taking a huff over things most people wouldn't consider taking a huff over. Amos Leroy IS spiteful; and I have to say, so is Wilfrid Crabbe in our own year. Bobbin made a few nasty comments but I think it's between those two; Leroy might even have done it to Pearl for not liking his famous voice or something! Trouble is, I slept like the dead, because I always do; if I thought there was anything fishy there I'd wonder anew about Zabini being involved, for his potioneering abilities. I – Leo and I had been a part of blooding in new people; and it can take a day or two to catch up, because we had also been rather burning the midnight oil too to get my first piece done to exhibit. Leo's taking it to NEWT too and he's been working in the forge dungeon so I could have a prefect there to be allowed to. So we weren't about to wake up if anyone slipped out! Zabini sleeps soundly anyway; we've counted on that rather at times; and I doubt I'D ever get a straight answer out of Bobbin; or Crabbe for that matter. Can you just legilimens people?"

"Not young people without their parents present and giving permission" growled Alastor "And as well that's the law I suppose; after the trouble Dawlish made."

"Yes: and Mardo Monk finally got shut of him by being legilimensed by Draco" said Gorbrin dryly. "From what I've picked up, Zabini's mum doesn't even care if he exists; let alone being prepared to protect him by letting him be legilimensed."

Moody grunted.

"I'll see what I can pick up on the damaged piece; I've a couple of diviners along to see what they can find out; forensic divination is a pretty accurate thing."

"Oh my friend Albert wants to do that sort of thing" said Gorbrin "He's a dowser and a geomancer; and he's not half bad at Arithmancy either."

"well, sounds like he's a man waiting for a job to walk into!" said Alastor and sighed "Oh all right, you Malfoy pest, I'll talk to him. That suit you?"

"Rather, sir" said Gorbrin "His family reckon he's a squib and he gets lots of hassle from them. Talking to a famous man like you will buck him up no end!"

"Yes, the main trouble with most kids is their parents" growled Moody "I'll say that for Lucius, he's a model father."

Gorbrin glowed with hearing praise for his beloved stepfather!

The article in the 'Daily Prophet' about wicked and violent racists ready to destroy the property and beat on vulnerable and fragile goblin and elven children was about the last straw; at least the 'Prophet' had enough sense to name no names but it did hint that such a psychopath probably learned his violence at the hands of a parent whose spouses died with monotonous regularity.

Mimi slid unnoticed down the table using elf magic to grab Zabini's wrists as he was about to leap up and scream abuse at the article.

"Show me" she said.

He thrust the paper into her hands.

"This from the rag that a couple of years ago was printing about how terrible it was that wicked scheming conniving elves and goblins were taking the bread from the mouths of honest witches and wizards by taking their places at Hogwarts" said Mimi dryly "I can't take seriously any arse-wipe that changes from that to dear little fragile etcetera. And you shouldn't either, Darryl."

"Did you see what they wrote? They made it plain I'm the scapegoat and my mum being accused of murder!"

"Yeah, well, she has gone through rather a lot of husbands" said Mimi "THAT's an accusation that's almost bound to surface. They're too shrewd to name names, alas, otherwise you could demand to be legilimensed to prove you hadn't done it and then hit them with a law suit. You up for a bit of counter publicity?"

"I'm listening"

"Witch weekly is a sister publication; it prints as much trash but they claim to like a human interest story. I know you won't lie – and I respect you for that – but honestly, when you think about it hard, do you really HATE goblins? Or me?"

"You I have no trouble with; Makepeace is another matter. I'd cheerfully strangle her!"

"Oh you and about half the rest of the people who know her" said Mimi cheerfully "Me included. Even her brother says she's a pratt; he reckons if the Marauders believe you that's good enough for him and his gang. It's Makepeace and a few dippy Ravenclaws – should that be dippier Ravenclaws?" she mused "No, 'cos the Changs are okay and the two in the Mad Marauders. What about goblins?"

He shrugged.

"I'd be a fool if I didn't notice that the goblins here – apart from that brief Gryffindorish interlude – have been remarkably civil to me and disgustingly fair minded. I find goblins unpleasant to look at; like I said it's the fingers. I – there was this goblin woman worked for mother as well as the elves and – and I remember being dragged away from mama when I wanted to stay; Nelaka's fingers on my arms…..uggh!"

Mimi nodded.

"But you can truthfully say that you came to school with some racist ideas and have learned to overcome them?"

"I wouldn't go that far; I'd say I am indifferent to goblins. I think I am now; so long as I don't have to touch them."

"Learning to shake hands without revulsion might be good" said Mimi. "So we let them have a human interest story about how you and your girlfriend just want to be left alone."

"Who's my girlfriend?"

"Who are you taking to the ball, dipstick?" said Mimi "Laarvely picture of half-elven – as they'll see it - petite and pretty Mimi Snape leaning against handsome and clever Darryl Zabini, watch the birdie, smile please! And your half elf to trump that silly little piece of a weevil. You might try dancing with a half goblin at that; the fingers aren't quite so….. well, gobliny. It's mostly in the face of most."

He nodded.

"You're a devious and clever piece, Mimi Snape."

She grinned.

"I was reared a Snape with Malfoy complications."

Kazrael confronted Zabini with all the ebullience only a weevil facing out a lordly fifth former can muster.

"Look here, Zabini, are you sorry at all you tried to jinx me on the train? 'cos if you are, I reckon I might believe you over Makepeace only I'm not sure I do."

Zabini stared.

"Wretch of a weevil!" he said "Should I care what you believe? Personally I think people who attack the schoolwork of others are despicable. Am I sorry for trying to jinx you? As I recall I was insulting you not jinxing you; it's beneath my dignity to jinx weevils. Besides, you're Slytherin now; Slytherin goblins are higher life forms than any form of Ravenclaw and most Gryffs and Huffers. Though with Ravenclaws, that repellent brat Slugworthy's slimy pets are higher life forms. No I'm not sorry for insulting you; all weevils should be insulted."

"Lilith said you made remarks about Dunbar Finch and his parents. Do you ought to insult parents?"

"I hate rubbernecks" said Zabini "I don't much like goblins. I have some time for Gorbrin Malfoy because he's a potioneer. And a Slytherin and therefore a higher life form. I despise subservient elves. And I am especially un-fond of all weevils; so get lost kid!"

It had been unforgivably CHILDISH to get at that one; or the mudblood lad. They were only weevils; beneath contempt. Well except perhaps Lilith Snape who was too dangerous to ignore as one ought to ignore weevils.

Lilith Snape, whose adoptive sister was Mimi!

Whose larger form was lovelier even than the piquant look of her fully elven form!

Mimi started using her larger form in class; to the consternation of several of her form mates who did double takes.

The Belle Marauders acted like nothing was different.

Sampta Patil said it was disgusting that Mimi should be masquerading as something she was not, and acting like she was ashamed of being what she really ought to look like.

Mimi laughed.

"You can say that when you stop using cosmetics to attract boys and don't use zit cream to deal with something else that's a perfectly natural part of YOUR form" she said scornfully "I want to be able to DANCE at the Yule Ball, Patil, not be treated like somebody's teddy bear; and I want to be able to stand on my own feet if I feel like snogging a boy. It's a matter of practical consideration. Unless your concern for me being true to myself stops short of liking the idea of an elf snogging a human? If so I suggest you keep any such racist thoughts to yourself. You are a dipstick!"

Patil flounced off in a huff.

Bella did take Mimi aside when she got a calculation wrong in Arithmancy; Mimi being the only one of that group who actively enjoyed Arithmancy.

"Mimi, have you FALLEN for that creep Zabini?" she demanded.

"Inside his head he's most awfully mixed up" said Mimi "We've got a chance to stop him becoming a bit like the old you, you know; the spoilt brat with no real home affection you saw. He has more to have to deal with that the little princess Black; given everything he ever wanted except time and love. He's jealous of me you know; of having loving parents."

"You HAVE got it bad" commented Bella.

"I – I don't know if I have" said Mimi "He is attractive; and I guess I want to look after him; but I want to SHAKE him as often as I want t-to k-kiss him."

Bella groaned.

"Oh Mimi!" she said "Why can't you be uncomplicated and pick one of the Mad Marauders? Leo's up for grabs for one! Why pick someone so eminently unsuitable? At least MY love life is uncomplicated and only involves Assim's fluffy white tummy!"

Mimi laughed.

"There would be those who would say that falling for a rakshasa wasn't the wisest move" she said. "I notice you and he have been firmly avoiding each other."

"Trying to" said Bella "I don't want to get him into trouble for being illegally young; though I suppose technically I'm older than Narcissa. I can argue that if anything slips!" she added brightening.

"Ass" said Mimi amicably. "Look, I don't know yet if what I feel about Darryl is just attraction; and I'm not going charging ahead with anything, snogging or blooding in, until I AM certain. I know that if he was blooded he'd suddenly understand a lot more; and stop being snippy for knowing that he was loved; but he needs to unbend enough to be ready to be loved, and I don't even know if he can. I don't even know if he's continuing to chat me up to find out why we're powerful; or if he's just clinging to me as any port in a storm. Or really what he thinks about me. I – I rather think he did genuinely like my new form. It's more womanly; there's something almost paedophilic about fancying an elf that isn't unusually busty. Mummy's fairly shapely in both forms and I'm not FLAT but….well…..it's nice to be a bit, well, more."

Bella nodded.

"That's why Stripes and I are staying by tacit agreement out of each other's way; I sort of had a mammary explosion over the hols and it's a bit embarrassing, I'm learning how to drive them and they mesmerise Stripes when they bounce."

"It's the tiger in him" said Mimi wisely "He sort of wants to pat out at anything that moves and bat it about between his paws."

Bella went boss eyed and purred loudly.

"And you have the cheek to say that I have it bad?" Mimi said "Bella Black, that's a perfectly natural purr; have you actually changed?"

"Only in the privacy of my own bedroom at home" said Bella defensively "I'm not about to start smelling tigery at Stripes; it wouldn't be fair. But I wanted to know that I could."

Mimi sighed.

"You and me, we just like a challenge, I guess" she said. "We wouldn't be marauders if we weren't up for the difficult things in life."

"Is he really going to be a decent type?" asked Bella "I mean, we've been enemies for years!"

"Well, Dad fought a load with Lily Evans" said Mimi "And he had a rotten time with James Potter and Padfoot, and you can't say they haven't learned to get over a whole lot of crap!"

"Well I guess that's true" said Bella. "Growing up is so complex; half of me wants to do it in a hurry so I can find out what makes all the delicious feelings I get about Assim; and half of me wishes I could go back to being twelve forever."

"Yes, I know what you mean" said Mimi "Being good old fashioned enemies is so much less complicated than caring about other people's motives and how much of a victim they really are."

Once the reporter that Mimi arranged to meet in Hogsmeade had got over the fact that the egregious racist's girlfriend was a half-elf – as she perceived Mimi's larger form – she was happy to ask where the veiled accusations had come from.

Mimi gave a wry smile.

"I bet they weren't veiled in any letter the 'Prophet' got" she said "We've a shrewd idea who wrote it; the kid needs every sympathy because she's had a very disturbed background. Even her brother finds it all pretty embarrassing; he told Darryl that he and his friends believe him."

"Is the tale of destroyed work spurious then?"

"Not hardly" said Darryl "It's disgusting; anyone who damages schoolwork is a creep. I bucked out of a gang when I was younger because the leader thought it was all right to sabotage pens and such to stop people doing homework."

"There's always at least one" said Mimi "Either they're the really spiteful type that thinks any foul trick to a rival is fair do's, or they're the hearty type without a mind above quidditch and roast beef who thinks those who care about doing schoolwork at school are laughable characters and need to be punished for being swots; you know, the ones who would be hurt if you called them bullies." She judged the woman was of an age with the first Marauders.

"Oh I know the types" said the reporter in instant sympathy.

"THEY at least generally grow out of it; daddy suffered from some, but they're good friends now because they had the balls to say sorry" said Mimi not wanting to have Sirius castigated "But their damage is THOUGHTLESS; this is kinda nasty."

"Is it true the aurors' office has been called in?"

"I'd say rather" said Mimi carefully "That Professor Dumbledore, who is a great man and does not want to be unfair to anyone, has probably called in a favour from a friend in the auror's office; so if whoever has done this is merely deeply disturbed it can be dealt with quietly and in school and every help given to such an individual, for in that case it would be an attention-seeking plea for help; and if it turns out to be something more wilful, then the law can take its course. Teenage kids aren't at their most stable in life; hormones raging, pressure of exams, for some the first time away from home, it can lead to aberrant behaviour; such is almost inevitable in a closed environment like a school where we must associate closely with people we don't necessarily like. The positive side is that it teaches us social skills and how to live with people we really would quite like to send off to the moon on one of Weasley's Wizard Fireworks."

"May I ask, Mr Zabini, do you have any racist tendencies?" asked the reporter.

"What apart from towards lesser being likes first years and most Ravenclaws?" asked Darryl.

"We should be fair; the Ravers have a decent set of pre's this year and Mei is a good head" said Mimi.

"Yeah, but half the middle school are the weirdest!" said Darryl.

"I think it's a requirement for Ravenclaw" said the reporter "So the whole thing of your so-called racism is a fabrication?"

"It's hung on truth which is what makes it nasty; and in a way it's a sabotage of MY work because people often believe what they read and it's rather offputting – and in my OWL year too" said Darryl "My pre-school experiences gave me a despite of goblins; and since the boy in my class whose work is thought to have been the target is a goblin and he's protested belief of my innocence I have to revise my opinions. On the whole I'd say I was mostly indifferent to most goblins unless they're stroppy at me. I don't want rights for this that and the other shoved in my face; I find that puts me off whoever is doing the shoving. I have aesthetic issues. I don't think that makes me more of a racist than nine people out of ten."

"You're a very clever and devious girl Mimi Snape" said Darryl "Deeply disturbed – in need of sympathy – then dragging in that whoever did the sabotage may be disturbed – you just told that reporter you think Makepeace herself did it. Do you think she did?"

"No; but I don't see why she shouldn't realise that making wild public accusations is a dangerous thing to do and totally beyond the pale" said Mimi "If they run with that let her see what it's like; and she can't hardly accuse me of racism 'cos I'm twice as elf as she is. She's one who's going to rely on squealing racism for any disagreement with her; and it won't be good for her personal development. It was that or give her a good spanking."

"I think what I like about you is that you DON'T have an elf-oriented agenda" said Darryl.

Mimi shrugged.

"I have a people-oriented agenda" she said serenely.

The article, when it appeared, was everything Mimi might have hoped for; and maundered sentimentally about how it was a shame that sweet couples like Mimi and Darryl who showed the paradigm of racial tolerance should not be left alone just because jealous and disturbed girls felt like stirring matters for their own self-seeking ends. It hinted that such girls had been known to cause trouble in the first place just to start a furore that they might fan the flames of.

Michelle Makepeace was furious!

The paper was making her out to be a troublemaker and a liar and attention seeker! She said so, loudly!

"Well that could be because you are" said Mimi. "I too have serious issues with this article but most of mine are grammatical; you'd have thought that a reporter ought to be able to write English. Split infinitives are the least of the horridly glaring errors; and the spelling! Nice picture though; Darryl's looking particularly tasty in it. Is that why you've got it in for him, Makepeace, 'cos he's not interested in going out with a grubby little weevil like you?"

Michelle could never compete with any of the Marauders and fled, bested.

Most people – including Pearl, who was a sensible girl – tried to put the whole business out of their minds to get on with school work; and of course Quidditch.

Slytherin had already beaten Gryffindor and had a match with Ravenclaw; and on the pitch a hard-fought battle ended with Gorbrin just missing the snitch as Jack Murray jinked superbly in front of him; and Gorbrin shook his hand for the clever move.

It would not have made any difference as it happened; Mad and Chad were still far and away the best chasers in the

school and Slytherin lost an ignominious six hundred and ten to three hundred.

What was disgraceful was the fight amongst sundry spectators when Ravenclaws started accusing the Slytherin of harbouring and shielding racist saboteurs. Slytherin naturally made counter comments that as it was one of their own who had been the intended target such comments were out of line; it degenerated first to name calling and then to an all out brawl.

Mimi and Mortimer – who was on the second team – exchanged looks and started dropping _petrificalis totalis_ on anybody fighting, regardless of house and Mimi sent Gennar for Dumbledore.

She then went to defend Darryl who was being beaten on physically as well as being jinxed; as he could hold his own against the spell attacks.

The six middle school Ravenclaws dropped silently in sudden bonds of green rope.

Zabini was bloodied but unbowed.

"Well I suppose I know something from the receiving end of unreasoning prejudice" he said grimly.

"Do you want me to fix it or do you want it to be evidence?" said Mimi.

"Evidence? They're acting under a mistaken belief; if they get ticked off for it, they're only going to see it as unfair, like I've seen it as unfair getting into trouble trying to keep contumelious goblins in their place before they start trouble" said Zabini harshly.

Both Ravenclaw and Slytherin lost a hundred points for that debacle; and Ravenclaw lost another thirty for starting the fray by leaping to conclusions that had no proof.

"And all we want now is if it DOES turn out to be Amos Leroy" groaned Mei "I kind of feel the Marauders ought to be finding out more; but I'm puzzled where to start, because we have to respect the fact that no-one is to approach the broken piece so we can't do a kind of engulfing charm to apport in the last person to touch it."

"It'd be a nice piece of chanting" said Lydia "And a great idea; but as Alastor's on it we can't really tread on his toes. I say, people, our Mimi's a bit gone on Zabini; if Gorbrin is wrong and it does turn out to be him, I'll bloody maim him."

"Legilimens him" said Chad.

"Brilliant" said Lydia and went off to find him.

Entering the Slytherin common room was no trouble for Lydia; and without even bothering to use the secret passage through the portrait of Ebeneezer Malfoy. She just asked the Bloody Baron for the password, the Slytherin ghost having always made a favourite of both Jade and Lydia and counting all Malfoys as spare Slytherin anyway.

"Hey, Snape, you're a Gryff: what are you doing in here?" demanded the older Baddock.

"Looking for Zabini" said Lydia "I SAY! You DID take a beating from those Raver oiks!"

"Gloating, are you?" said Zabini.

"Nope. Came to ask if you'd like this cleared up by having me legilimens you."

"you're a legilimens?"

"I kind of picked it up as I went along in the Voldemort years" shrugged Lydia.

Zabini nodded.

"So long as you don't pry other places."

"I'll try not too; try not to think too loudly about anything else" said Lydia. "Boys are such a pain to legilimens; their sex life tends to interrupt. If you try NOT to think about groping my sister for a few minutes I'd be obliged" and she winked at him. Zabini had been about to protest loudly but he was not sure what to make of the wink. "I'm going to ask you questions out loud because it brings things to the fore" said Lydia "Like, what do you know about the destruction of the piece of metalwork on Monday?"

"Only gossip and hearsay" said Zabini "Though bearing in mind who wrote to the 'Prophet' one can't help wondering if Mimi was right and this is a plea for help from a very disturbed little girl."

"Say, what?" said Lydia "Oh, I don't think Makepeace did it, she's not clever enough to slip out of her dorm at night."

"How DARE you accuse ME?" screeched Makepeace.

"How dare YOU, you rude little girl, be so lost to shame as to write to a sad rag like the 'Daily Prophet' with your own half baked ideas presented as fact?" said Lydia.

"You racist!" cried Makepeace.

"Makepeace" said Lydia "One of my sisters is an elf. Several of my much younger siblings are elves or half elves One of my best friends is Mort Bane, who's part goblin and another is Polly who's an elf. I took part in the eight hour chant that freed from all elves and half elves the compulsion to self punish. Eight hours solid chanting without food or drink, peeing in my pants because we couldn't afford to stop for anything like that, until I was too dehydrated to be able to pee any more; it was the hardest thing I've ever done and if you think that's a sign of a racist to do anything that tough for another race then I don't quite understand your definition of racism. You seem to be under the impression that anyone who disagrees with you is a racist; when frankly it's more to do with the fact that you're a rude, truculent, rather childish for your age little girl whose resentment of all the world is too big to allow those who have tried to make friendly gestures to you to succeed; you've pushed away anyone who tried to be nice to you."

"Nobody's been nice to me!"

"You little liar! Didn't my kid sister Lilith invite you to the MSHG? And don't say she didn't because she was quite hurt that you snubbed her in a nasty bullying way; and it IS bullying for a big girl of eleven to be so rude to a little girl of nine! And with your usual ill-informed sneer that it is childish; well let me tell you, the MSHG fights racism and Prince Gerhardt, the biggest racist born did NOT find us childish when we fought his werewolves and erklings and storm-wizards; you're going to find it hard to get people to be nice to you, my good kid, if you don't unbend enough to be a bit nice back when they first try. And I shouldn't be surprised to see YOU being racist for deciding that all humans are scum, which is just as much racism as a human who feels the same way about goblins! Go away, Makepeace; you're a silly kid and you irritate me. Oh and by the way, get this; Zabini has NO knowledge of how the article in question got damaged and he's as shocked by destruction of schoolwork as anyone. So put THAT in your silly and childish little pipe and smoke it!"

Makepeace stared at Lydia; and ran off in fury.

"CAN it have been her?" asked Meliandra.

"Don't think so" said Lydia. "Though I'm afraid I'd not put such an outburst of destruction against someone she believed to be racist out of her abilities. I wish you people would help to squash her a bit; she gives decent types like her brother Roger and my sister and my friend Polly a bad name."

"I'll sit on her, Snape" said Maia Pleiades "She's in my year; and I'm a half-breed too, even if the half is different. How by Merlin's multicoloured bedsocks are we half-breeds and goblins and elves going to prove we're normal decent people with types like Makepeace showing all the racists that she can be a silly little git who fulfils all their expectations? I bet she's eavesdropping actually and I hope she is because she needs to know she's sabotaging her own cause for having no brains and less manners."

"You'll do, Pleiades" said Lydia. "Ta for the time, all; and I'll spread about that I've stuck my eyes down Zabini's brain as my sister Jade puts it."

The forensic diviners had come up with the knowledge that the actual destruction was done by an elf.

Dumbledore summoned the castle elves and asked them if any pupil had ordered one of them to destroy the hard work of another. They all denied.

With a heavy heart he summoned Polly, Mimi, Kaur Freeman, Roger Blake and Michelle Makepeace to his study.

"My dears, I have to ask you to clear yourselves of the nasty destruction of Pearl Brocklehurst's work; since the aurors have discovered that the destruction was carried out by an elf or part elf."

"It's a racist calumny! They're lying!" said Makepeace.

Dumbledore looked at her in shock.

"Miss Makepeace, accusing the auror's office of lying is a serious and terrible accusation; and as I know the auror overseeing the forensic divination personally – and can tell you that his adoptive daughter is a half elf – I rather think that you are seeing racism where it does not exist. You are almost giving the impression of one who, ah, doth protest too much; and I do hope you are not yourself to blame for this!"

Makepeace burst into angry tears.

"Why does everyone keep accusing me?" she said.

"Maybe because," said Polly dryly, "it has been observed in the past that often a malefactor is the one who points the finger of blame at one they think they can shuffle the deed off onto; it's a more believable thing than that you're just such a vitriolic little busybody that you'd write to the paper accusing someone without any proof. Many of us think someone who'd do that has something to hide for themselves."

"But I didn't! Why would I want to destroy a goblin's work? They are brothers under the skin to us oppressed elves!"

"Speak for yourself" said Kaur, who was half goblin as well as half elf and was not keen on goblins in principle despite having several goblin friends. Which is to say, after his treatment by his father he was wary of those goblins he did not know.

"Besides" said Mimi "It wasn't a goblin's work that was destroyed; it's only a hypothesis that a mistake was made and that Gorbrin was the intended target. The work was that of a pure bred witch, and you're a bit racist against them, never mind that Pearl Brocklehurst is about as inoffensive as they come."

Dumbledore was gazing into the eyes of each in turn.

"I want each of you to swear to me that it was nothing to do with you" he said gently "And I, unlike some of my misguided pupils, will take your word if you can meet my eye to give it."

They all did so, even if Makepeace grumbled that she should have to.

"That means, if you've checked the castle elves, that it has to have been somebody's family elf" said Mimi quietly.

"Yes Mimi; I'm afraid it does. And that means we shall never find out who."

"Yes we will" said Polly "If you let the Marauders to a chant to apport in whoever was last to touch it."

"Ah" said Dumbledore "Unfortunately the last to touch it was the diviner who needed to handle and feel the destroyed pieces."

"Oh Merlin's bogies!" said Polly.

"Graphic but a reasonable sentiment" said Dumbledore.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"You turned me down last year for that stupid Chang boy, won't you come to the ball with me this year, Pearl?" asked Amos Leroy.

"I don't actually like you any more this year than I did last year" said Pearl "And I don't consider Ming stupid; actually he's a straight 'O' student which is more than can be said of you, because you don't actually apply yourself terribly well in class."

"What Pearl's too nice to say is that you lounge about mooning into the middle distance and contemplating your self-styled magnificence" said Venilia Cornfoot. "Only as she's a year older than us she doesn't get treated to your mouth dangling at imbecilic half mast, risking your precious tonsils, though I doubt a sore throat would make a lot of difference to your singing."

"I can't help my voice breaking!" yelped Leroy.

"Is it? I thought it was pretty broken from the word go" said Venilia "Your voice exercises always sounded like a banshee gargling with a ret hot poker up her bottom."

"I shall never forgive you for that! NEVER!" hissed Leroy.

Venilia laughed.

"That's what you said to Pearl last year when she told you she'd as soon take Peeves to the ball" she said.

"Well I thought in the light of her artistic endeavour being slighted Pearl might feel less callous of other people's fine artistic feelings" said Leroy huffily.

"Fine artistic fiddlesticks" said Pearl "Some git destroyed stuff I'd worked hard on; yes it hurt, but y'know, I can move on from that without whining about artistic feelings; to my mind it's a proof of how sad the poor little prick is that did it, whoever he or she was targeting."

"She?" queried Venilia.

"Well, spiteful destruction of property is a bit of a girly crime, isn't it?" said Pearl "It might be some silly girl's attempt to get at any one of us girls she's jealous of; Erica because she's rich and pretty, me because I'm pretty, Meliandra because she's pulled the cleverest boy in our year, Vasilica because she's Romanian and has a famous dad; y'know, there are too many possibilities to speculate about; so I've stopped trying. And I wish everyone would stop drivelling because I have eight inches to write for Madam Babbling on the significance of the word Nauthr and its use in the Havomal."

Pearl was not the only one wrestling with ancient Norse runes; Gorbrin, Ming and Hadrian among others were also taking the subject to OWL; and Gorbrin enjoyed himself hugely defining the N-rune as derived from the word Nauthr, to need, traditionally used in a chant to aid delayed childbed but from its meaning suitable in many chants. He discussed the Havomal, the 'Sayings of the High One' and its instructions to Odin Allfather; and got faintly sidetracked onto the use of blood magic to emphasise runic magic in Norse tales where blood was used rubbed into carven runes to enhance the effect, whether for good – to neutralise poison in the case of the Skald, Egil Skallagrimson, or for ill, to bring about the death of the hero Grettis.

He realised he had strayed into a nine inch essay with his rather small neat writing and rapidly wound up the essay.

"You know, Malfoy, it's not an attractive trait for anyone to look as though they're enjoying Ancient Rune homework" said Zabini.

"Sorry; but I was enjoying it" said Gorbrin "I love history, well, ancient history, I don't care that much for lists of statutes which is why I'm not taking history of magic. I suppose it's the point where history becomes myth that's interesting; the stories muggles write off as pure fable and we can see the truth in."

Zabini wandered over and read over his shoulder.

"You are a swot" he said "That's rather interesting though. Didn't Egil Skallagrimson chant too?"

"Yes; that's why ancient runes become suddenly so powerful once you appreciate the power of chanting" said Gorbrin. "And of course the power of blood magic; good and evil. Have you read Professor Snape's book 'Blood Magic, Love Magic'? It's a good read as well as citing examples like this,"

"I hadn't got around to it; I thought it was just about Harry Potter and his mother's sacrifice."

Gorbrin passed his own well-thumbed copy.

"You might find out more than most people do from it" he said cryptically "Especially if you're likely to stick with our Mimi and it's not some brief fling you're having. Mind, if you hurt her, lots of us get to draw straws on who beats you up."

"I wasn't intending to hurt her" said Zabini "I don't even know why I'm going around with her. You're not a marauder; how come you talk this 'us' business like you are?"

Gorbrin shrugged.

"Some of us stand as second layer honorary marauders to help out in whatever way we can. And I like Mimi anyway; the Snapes are very close to the Malfoys. Dad and Severus are just so close over deceiving Voldemort together. Did you know you've been civil to me for several long sentences? I was wondering if I ought to give you an award or report you to Pepperup Poppy for being ill."

Zabini laughed.

"I'm learning to forget that you're a goblin, Malfoy; and it's the only way I can handle it. You're actually about as objective as anyone gets here which is why I'm going to tell you something; for I have to say that the sight of goblins has me in a cold sweat and feeling the sort of revulsion some people feel for spiders, but nobody actually hates people who get phobias about spiders."

"I say! Then all my respect for standing so close to me and having normal conversation!" said Gorbrin "I wish you'd only said back in the first; only the most dedicated weirdo for rights like Makepeace could blame you for that!"

Zabini shrugged.

"I suppose I was too proud; and didn't have the words; or even really the concept that it was anything but hatred. I was brought up to look down on muggles and mudbloods; and our house elves are pretty despicable creatures."

"Has any goblin or goblins treated you badly then? If so I'm sorry, though it's nothing to do with me; but I'd like to understand."

"Badly? N-no. It's….childhood impressions. Associations of goblins and things that were bad…. I can't quite catch at it."

"Well, if you want Lydia to stick her eyes down your brain in that direction, I guess she would, to help you find it; or Severus. He's the greatest legilimens next to the head that there is I think" said Gorbrin.

"No!" said Zabini sharply "No – I don't think so…..not at the moment anyway."

"No offence meant" said Gorbrin.

"None taken" said Zabini. "Ah well, away from the pleasures of reading an 'O' grade essay and back to my 'E' grade attempts."

The day of the ball came; and the fourth years who were to go for the first time viewed it with that equivocal feeling of excitement and horror. The girls, generally, were the more excited; the boys the more horrified.

The head girl led the dancing with her boyfriend Mad Lockhart; Lydia went with Leo since he had no girlfriend and Viktor Krumm, obviously, was not there. Chad and Mortimer took Isabel Nightshade and Drusillina Hallow, Polly going with third year Kaur Freeman, being a better size match. Maud Langstaffe went with Ming Chang. Bella turned up with a five foot toy Hobbes that she had persuaded Ross Tuthill to buy her on the internet; and danced solemnly with him.

Assim sighed.

It was a clear enough message; but he did not dare dance with her.

Next year might be a different matter.

Many of the fifth had sorted themselves out long since, though at that age not all partnerships were totally stable; Gorbrin and Meliandra were an acknowledged item however as were Jardak and Jaska, and Vasilica and Mischa.

Pearl went with Albert MacMillan because she liked him; and there was a brief interlude while Amos Leroy threw a real hissy fit that she would discard HIM then go with a SQUIB!

Pearl cold-cocked him.

The other scene of the night was Hyacinth Greengrasse demanding of Darryl Zabini what he meant by standing her up to take a filthy stinking ELF of all things.

"Hark!" said Mimi to Darryl "The sound of the screech owl doth carry to the ear; the mindless sound of a mindless bird"

"You're boring, Greengrasse" said Zabini "No boy would want to dance with you twice running; you spend all your time sounding like a goblin accountant adding up your partner's wealth instead of telling his good points."

Hyacinth flushed angrily; being compared to a goblin was the worst insult of the lot to her!

"You've got good points?" teased Mimi. He grinned at her.

"You told me you liked my honesty" he said.

"Oh yes, there is that" she said "You've also got good taste to prefer me to Greengrasse. She's not one of my favourite people."

"I think I guessed that; you're prettier than her, and cleverer and rather nicer too" said Darryl as they danced off "You also dance better."

"Dancing is a good way to stay fit in inclement weather" said Mimi "I'm glad Professor Dumbledore is instituting dancing classes after chanting next term to make sure the babes aren't as socially inept as we've always been hitherto; dad does that in Austria. 'course, the winter's longer there too. But it also makes you nimble for those of us who take duelling as a body contact sport."

"A little snip of a thing like you?" he was horrified.

"Petite, Darryl; you have to be tactful when talking to girls" said Mimi. He laughed.

"And how many girls but you would take a huff over a tactless way of putting things rather than calmly telling me I put my foot in it?"

"Only the silly ones" said Mimi "Darryl, you are awfully attractive; as I expect you know. Most girls would like to be seen dancing with you I guess, when you've stopped being aggressively anti; I just want you to know that I'm a bit old fashioned about how much snogging I do until I'm certain I'm going to get married."

"That's thinking well in advance."

"Well as you asked Greengrasse about prenuptial agreements that's rich!" said Mimi.

He shrugged.

"I was only thinking that I supposed I'd have to get married; that I was rich and she's pure blood; that it would be a suitable business arrangement. She's too sly for me though. She gave me some chocolates and next day pushed a prenuptial document at me that was definitely in her favour; so I used Scarpin's Revellaspell on the chocs – I hadn't started them – and found a love potion in them. She definitely didn't want my money to get away. Then you used amortentia – and its antidote; and were up front about it. I suppose I couldn't help comparisons. And… well, the amortentia meant I actually looked at you properly; I dunno how it's going to pan out. I don't want to lose the chance to know you just because I don't much like a lot of elves. I say, is it true that Brocklehurst's work was trashed by an elf?"

"Yes; and it's probably someone's family elf, and enough of us have them that it's hard to know whose elf it may be; 'cos after the aurors sodded about with relatively little result it's trashed over our chances to chant up an engulfing spell to heave in the person that last touched it."

"You can do that?"

"I dunno that I could; but the Mad Marauders certainly could, and I know enough to help. I'm the nearest thing the Belle Marauders have to an arithmancer but I'm not in the same league as Lydia or Lilith and certainly I'm nothing to touch Jade! Whereas most of the Mad Marauders are arithmancers by inclination, if there's one weaker one it's Leo. Of course we all study it; like Jade said at the Triwizard, Arithmancy is the basis for all higher magic."

"I envy your whole family's acceptance that you'll learn higher magic and how you get taught it."

"That's because dad and Krait taught themselves you know" said Mimi "working outwards from chanting; and blood magic too I guess. I'm not supposed to talk too much about it; I can tell you more if we become an item properly, but you can. I'm sure, appreciate that I'm a little wary."

"I'm not exactly unwary myself" said Darryl "I can't imagine what my mother might say! I'm quite glad that she doesn't take witch weekly with that pretty picture of us and the interview. They didn't muck up what we said too much, did they?"

"I cheated and dropped a compulsion on the reporter" said Mimi "NOT very ethical, but then Witch Weekly and ethics parted company long ago. Are you ashamed of me then?"

"No! Well… it's going to be hard to explain to mum that you're so DIFFERENT."

"Well tell her I'm rich then" said Mimi. "That ought to overcome a lot of scruples."

"Are you saying my mum is mercenary?"

"Can you declare that she isn't?"

Darryl looked uncomfortable.

"I guess not" he said. "It should help mitigate matters anyway. She'd rather I got off with Erica Malfoy I guess; but it's not like your parents aren't well known and prominent people in the wizarding world."

Mimi hid a sigh.

Darryl idolised his mother, that was clear enough; and it certainly seemed to Mimi that she had caused most of his troubles!

Generally speaking everyone enjoyed the Yule Ball and were in a festive mood ready to go home to their families for the Christmas season!

Darryl was not expecting to see much of his mother over the Yule holidays; there were always parties and balls for her to go to.

He was surprised when she smiled at him to stay in her boudoir for a while when he greeted her dutifully next morning.

"Darling, how handsome you are" she murmured "Do you know a boy called Jocelyn Malfoy?"

"Yes of course I do mother" said Darryl "He's a year below me, has a wide and eclectic selection of friends even a couple of Ravenclaws, and he's fond enough of quidditch without being boring about it; he's pretty academic. Tipped for eleven OWLs probably with a large number at 'O'"

"Oh dear, he does sound tedious!" said Madam Jocasta Zabini.

"Oh no, not at all" said Darryl "Why?"

"well, darling, his father got divorced from his mother – silly piece was caught involved in goblin coursing, of all the ridiculously strenuous pastimes! And he IS a Malfoy; and I wondered if it might be quite nice to settle down as Madam Malfoy; and I couldn't possibly be a part of Lucius' strange ménage, especially as he's odd over people treating his political wives just like Narcissa. Orme Malfoy isn't prominent socially but I expect I could work on him. And then this boy Jocelyn would be your step brother."

Darryl was rather taken aback.

He had overheard Jocelyn talking about the divorce when it had happened; and had concluded that Jocelyn had little real time for his mother and was fiercely protective of a rather bookish and shy father.

"Darling mumsie, I don't think you could bear to be married to someone whose idea of high jollies is finding a book more than four inches thick in a library" he said hastily "Orme Malfoy is terribly academic, you know; far more than Joss. Jocelyn said that now his dad's divorced he was planning on doing some high level research into post NEWT Arithmancy."

Madam Zabini gave a squeal of horror.

"Well if he marries me I shall CERTAINLY not permit THAT! Fancy admitting to such a thing – Arithmancy is socially DISASTROUS!"

"I rather enjoy Arithmancy myself" said Darryl "So does my girlfriend; she's one of Snape's girls, so she's rich in her own right and I know she's not a gold-digger" he added casually.

"Well that's very nice dear; but now go away, you've given me a headache even contemplating Arithmancy" said Madam Zabini crossly "And I shall have to decide whether being Madam Malfoy is worth being saddled with a boring old fart who can't be conveniently got rid of with someone as meddlesome as Lucius around."

Zabini gasped; and fled.

Mimi was not expecting an owl; she was busy playing with babies when the tawny owl alighted, hooting, extending its leg with the message.

She read it quickly.

"Daddy, Darryl's upset about something, he's asked me to go" she said.

"Can you find him?" asked Severus "You're not tied to him by blood."

"I'll need to chant" said Mimi and proceeded to do so, enclosing the owl in her chant to draw forth its knowledge of where it came from.

Then she was apparating; and found herself in a luxurious bedroom of predominantly red satin. Darryl lay face down on the bed.

"Darryl?" said Mimi.

He sat bolt upright.

"Mimi! Oh you can do it then! You didn't come right away so I wondered….."

"You poor prune I had to find out from your owl where you were; a house elf is tied to you in blood and family. I'm not a house elf. Besides, what if I'd been sitting on the loo? You can't hurry some things! You are a pessimist!" said Mimi; and sat down beside him. "Darryl, what's happened?"

Darryl buried his face in her lap and sobbed.

Mimi stroked his hair until the storm subsided.

"I think…. I think my mum DID kill my dad!" he hiccuped at last.

"Tell me all about it" said Mimi; and Darryl relayed the conversation as best he could.

"Crumbs" said Mimi "Talk about cold! I say, I have to warn Lucius to protect his cousin Orme from marrying your mum; I like Uncle Orme. He's as bookish as a Snape and he's a friend of dad's. Look here, Darryl, I'm not a great legilimens like some of my sisters; but I guess I'm good enough to explore with you any memories you have of your dad dying. You weren't very old were you?"

"Three or four I think" said Darryl "I – it's a frightening place; I'm scared, Mimi."

Mimi took his hands.

"Darryl, sometimes knowing is less scary than wondering" she said "Only….. I suppose it's selfish of me but I'M afraid that if I help you find what happened you'll hate me for it because it might spoil your relationship with your mum."

"She's already spoiled it!" cried Darryl "Talking about getting rid of him like that! I wish I'd had a dad to feel about the way Joss does about his; but all I've had is the current boyfriend and most of them, it's a clip about the head and a 'get lost kid' or a jinx, or something!"

"All right" said Mimi "Shall I come in?"

Darryl nodded; and Mimi made eye contact and plunged into the roiling thoughts.

Darryl was nearly four; and he was eating boiled egg with fingers. His parents were at breakfast and his father was telling his mother that he did not like the way she had been flirting the previous night.

His mother appeared not to be listening – she rarely did – and was opening a package from the owl post.

It was a necklace of silver and opals and Mimi gasped as she saw it. So too did Darryl. Madam Zabini tipped it out of the box – careful not to touch it – and said 'look what an admirer has sent me!' her husband leaped to his feet 'give that to me' he was roaring; and snatching it up.

Mimi knew what was going to happen next; he rose in the air quite gracefully and then was screaming his life away. The look on Madam Zabini's face was cruel satisfaction. Darryl was screaming; the child and the youth and Mimi hastily dropped the _muffliatus_ spell on the room. The memory of his mother said 'get that child out of here' and long twig-like goblin fingers grabbed him, pulled him away dragging him away from the last ever sight of his dying father. And the last sight of his mother there was of her using the sugar tongs to drop the necklace back in the box and telling her goblin manservant to take it back to Borgin and Burke's and sell it back to them.

Darryl was sobbing again; and Mimi held him to her, trying to comfort him.

"That's what was sent to Burke!" said Darryl "The self same thing! I wondered at the time why I felt so sick! I – I guess I'd worked on forgetting it!"

"Your conscious mind didn't even see it" said Mimi "I kinda did what a Pensieve does; it brings up the memories you don't know you have. It's a Snape thing. Burke's experience jogged the memory – a little. I guess you put it down to shock over the whole business. Well now you know; the question is, what next?"

"What do you mean?"

"As I see it you have a number of choices. One, pretend like nothing's happened, try to hide your knowledge from you mother and stick your head in the sand; though that's a choice I don't think is very you. Two, confront your mother with what you know and ask her if she had good reason, like your dad beat on her or something. Three, walk out on her without confronting it; and that's a bit too cowardly for you too; or four, report it to the aurors, which seems to me a bit…. Well, she IS your mum."

Darryl nodded.

"I guess I have to ask her about it" he said reluctantly. "I need to know if she had a good reason; if he hurt her, I can forgive her. Otherwise…. I don't know what I'll feel; I guess it depends what she says."

"Alright; I can apparate here again if you need me; or you can run away to ours, number six Orme Court, Bayswater. Shall I stay a while?"

"Yeah; give me a cuddle" said Darryl. "I – I need someone to make me feel strong enough to ask her."

Darryl turned up in Orme Court just after midnight his teeth chattering in shock; and Severus took him directly to his study and put on cocoa.

Mimi heard Darryl's voice in the hall and came in quickly, in her pyjamas and dressing gown.

Severus had his arm about the boy's shoulders and Mimi knelt down beside him and took his hands.

"Shall I tell daddy about what you told me this afternoon?" she said.

"Hadn't you already?" said Darryl dully.

"Of course not; it was private!" said Mimi, shocked "I passed on the warning about Uncle Orme being likely to be vamped is all!"

"You are quite something else" said Darryl "Go on then."

Mimi looked into Severus' eyes; it was the quickest way.

He nodded

"Not a pleasant thing to find out" he said gravely.

"My dad the master of litotes" said Mimi "I take it you talked to her and it didn't go well?"

"It didn't hardly really go" said Darryl "I – I told her that talking about getting rid of Mr Malfoy like that jogged my memory; and that a cursed piece of jewellery sent to a girl at school was a nagging memory and then I recalled it all, that she'd killed dad with a cursed item. And – and she shrugged!" he said "And I asked her why – and she said that he was in the way and a bit of a nuisance! So I said, had he then beaten on her or jinxed her or been mean to her; and she laughed and said did I really think she'd let anyone behave like that, he was just rather irritating about her having lovers and admirers and I asked if that was IT and she said, wasn't that enough and would I run along now like a good boy because she wanted to dress for some blasted party!"

Severus sighed.

"You poor little boy" he said "I'm afraid there are those people so shallow and selfish that the only thing that matters to them is their own pleasures and comforts."

"If he'd hurt her in any way I'd never feel like this!" cried Darryl "But it makes me wonder, what if I or any of my friends become inconvenient? Maybe that's selfish but….. but suppose she took against me going out with Mimi and sent her a cursed item? Or – or poison?"

"We've got enough enemies to be awfully wary about anything that comes through the post" said Mimi "People have been trying to kill dad and his family for years, up to and including Voldemort; it's you we need to worry about, not me. Did you tell her you were leaving home?"

"I left a note saying I couldn't live any more under the roof of my dad's murderer; that she was the praying mantis I'd heard her called; and if she hadn't got time to let me express myself ever by talking to her she'd just have to have it in a letter without chance to reply since parties were more important than her son" said Darryl.

Severus pulled a face.

"The thing is, I think – because I know her slightly – that parties ARE more important then her son" he said "The adulation and admiration is a drug to her that supersedes everything. So long as she doesn't get any hassle from Albus nor any trouble from the auror's office she won't I think, bother to touch you. Whether Blaise thinks you dangerous to your mother is another matter. I've a strong suspicion there's something deeply Oedipal in his relationship with your mother."

"I'm sorry sir?"

"Oedipus Rex; prophesised at his birth that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He was sent to be raised in obscurity, came to take part in games and threw a discus that accidentally killed his father. By law he was obliged to marry and care for the widow of a man who was killed by accident. And he didn't know it was his mother."

"Crumbs!" said Darryl "That would explain a lot of things! I say, she HAS spent a bit more time with me, and gives me caresses; do you think…..ooer!"

"Wouldn't she have taken against him having a girlfriend at all?" said Mimi.

"I rather fancy Jocasta Zabini likes her boyfriends experienced" said Severus dryly. "And very pretty; last time I was peripherally involved in some do she was at – I'd blown in to see someone – I had to jinx a couple of her admirers because she said something about how terrible it was that they let ugly things like me in and how upset it made her; and her mesmerised lunch – uh, lovers – came to beat me up. No joy THERE" he added grimly.

Darryl gasped.

"Oh SIR! But you're scarred from saving the school, EVERYONE knows that!"

"Somehow I doubt being ugly could be mitigated if I had become scarred personally saving your mother's life" said Severus dryly.

"What am I going to do sir?" asked Darryl.

"You're going to eat a bowl of fish chowder that I shall heat up and snuggle down with a hot water bottle and have a good sleep; and I'll drop something in a drink to help with that" said Severus firmly "And in the morning we'll sort out whether you're going to carry on at Hogwarts or whether you'd feel safer having a clean break and coming to Prince Peak. Tough at this time of your exams but I do at least follow the same curriculum. I know you're not seventeen yet, but you can ask to be a ward of the school – whichever school you choose – and then Albus or I will make me your guardian. It's a simple enough procedure; it allows children who feel unsafe at home but who don't want to raise legal proceedings against their parents to feel as though they have a safe environment in which to grow up. You'll be seventeen in a year or so and can please yourself."

"Mimi's right sir; you are sort of what they had in mind when they invented the concept of dads" said Darryl earnestly.

Severus laughed but looked pleased.

"And THEN" he added "We discuss whether to give you another layer of protection; and that depends a lot on how truly deeply you feel for Mimi. We'll see about that in the morning; Mimi will sort you out a bed and I'll bring you up a tray. Your teeth can be left for once; we shan't tell Hermione Granger" he added leaving Mimi to explain why that had made her giggle!

And shortly, Darryl lay in bed in borrowed pyjamas after a brief greeting from the owner, Victor Crabbe who had been expelled a couple of years before, eating remarkably good chowder and chips and drinking a hot milky drink that tasted sweet and malty; and it was making him faintly sleepy so that when Mimi came to take away the tray and drop a goodnight kiss on his cheek he could manage little but a drowsy smile at her.

Professor Snape really was the best at sorting things out!

Consequently, Darryl Zabini spent the best Yule of his life; discovering that in some households the grown ups took part in the festivities too, and wore silly paper hat and groaned over terrible jokes in the Weasley Wizard Crackers the likes of 'why did the ghost not go to the Yule ball? – Because he had no BODY to go with'. The Snapes shouted that one down and Darryl learned about the special gloves Madam Krait Snape had made to allow Abraxus Malfoy to take the ghostly Moaning Myrtle to the ball before he had sacrificed his hand to bring her back to life. More to their tase in jokes was 'what did the boy who got caught up in the whomping willow give as an excuse for not doing his homework? – he said he was a bit bushed!'

Darryl went at Mimi's suggestion to see Casimir Malfoy next door to begin a search of any muggle ancestors he might have; and was fascinated by the power of an encyclopaedia of everything at the fingertips.

"This makes muggles tremendously powerful!" he gasped in horror as much as fascination.

"Fortunately most don't realise how powerful it is" said Casimir dryly "As most use it to answer fairly mundane questions – youths doing homework for example – or to look at er, smutty pictures. That's THE most common use of it."

"How can they WASTE such a powerful engine sir?" demanded Darryl.

Casimir shrugged.

"Because perhaps as many as nine out of ten people – muggle, wizard, goblin, elf, whatever – are somewhere between plain stupid or just ignorant of everything that doesn't affect them" he said "I don't go so far as to say that ninety nine per cent of people are morons like Severus does; Severus is snide, cynical and has rather seen the worse side of people. And even so, I don't think he really means it, he just likes shocking people" he grinned "And keeping them at arm's length."

"Professor Snape is pretty wonderful I think" said Darryl.

"Didn't say he wasn't; he's one of my best friends" said Casimir "But I recognise his armour you know. I should think you might too; haven't I heard your name in connection with a, er, celebrated sneer?"

Darryl flushed.

"I suppose so" he said.

"Well, just be glad most muggles DO have only limited outlooks like most wizards" said Casimir "Else more would be known about us than is; and one of the things I do is to help make sure the sites that mention our world get thoroughly ridiculed whilst tracking down and investigating those who've posted anything about their encounters with magic. Sometimes it helps to answer questions personally and make muggle friends; or even to find kids hidden by electrical sub stations that blocks magic. The ministry even pays me to do it" he grinned. "Leave your ancestry with me young Darryl and I'll find out what I can."

"Thank you sir" said Darryl; have afraid of what Mr Malfoy might find; and half eager!


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"I'd like to stay at Hogwarts, sir if it's the same to you – if I leave, despite Lydia using legilimensy, those ruddy Ravenclaws will say I ran away from guilt and hold it as proof I did destroy Brocklehurst's wretched cauldron timer" said Darryl over breakfast on Boxing Day. He was determinedly eating boiled egg and fingers, something he now knew had a reason that he could never stomach before. It was a determination not to let his mother's actions mess with his head.

"Eh, what's this?" said Severus.

Darryl and Mimi both recited the history of it to him with input from Lilith and Lydia.

Severus was glad of long years as a teacher to follow the tale.

"And the Ravers are just so keen to have a scapegoat" said Darryl "But I didn't care so much while Mimi believed me; and, I have to say, I appreciated Gorbrin holding fast on my innocence too. He's a potioneer; he knew I'd never think such a toy was made by a true potioneer."

"I expect she'll find a market for the design" said Severus in resignation "Potioneers are born, not made; though I say that and think of Lionel Dell and Dione for that matter who both put in what it takes to make better than competent potioneers."

Dione leaned over to kiss him.

"I think, you know," she said "O best beloved and most skill-snobby man in the world, that there may just be degrees of it; like there are those muggles who are sensitives and those who are late developers and those who have enough to make potions but who can't raise stars from a wand. Some of us can learn SOME feel; and I wouldn't mind betting there'd be more out there who could if only they had the determination."

"Well, maybe" conceded Severus. "Mimi; the next bit is your shout."

"Darryl; do you think you'd like to get old beside me?" said Mimi "If not as a husband then as a close friend?"

Darryl stared.

"I – well, I hadn't planned on worrying too much about the future in that respect until I'd finished NEWTS" he said "I can't see me finding anyone I'd prefer to be with than you."

"How do you feel about being close to goblins now you know why their fingers give you the screaming abdabs?" said Mimi.

"Kind of…..equivocal. Ashamed I put all my fears on all goblins I suppose. I feel pretty damn foolish to have let that colour me….. I guess every time she came to take me away from mum and grabbed me it sort of reminded me of that awful day and made it worse…..why?"

"Because if you're to be part of us, you'd have to be prepared to share blood with the group as a whole; and that means the goblins in it as well" said Mimi calmly.

"Share….. you mean THAT's the secret?"

"A less well kept secret than it was meant to be" said Severus dryly "The ubiquitous and unwholesomely clever Mr Dell worked it out in his, as I recall, third year; and proceeded to set up his own blood group purely so his muggle friend Ross Tuthill could do magic" he grinned mirthlessly "Much to the consternation of the rest of us. It's one reason Albus wanted Lionel to stay on to do the Triwizard; it would be a toss up between him and Mei Chang and both would be protected by blood group if Odessa tried any funny business; and of course so was Jade. And all on their honour, without even needing to be asked, not to use it for the competition. They just really are that good. The only time it was used was to chant over and heal other competitors. But what happens to one, the rest can feel; we learn to block at need – we don't want to know about each other's love life for example, and when the girls are giving birth they must block from any who are pregnant, not to set it off early. We share out the killing curse; between ah, an hundred and twelve as we now are it has very little meaning. Albus Dumbledore has a limited joining to me; keeping a dozen killing curses diffused by spell and then passing them off through me to the rest at that farcical event in Durmstrang gave me a severe headache, I can tell you!"

"I think you're amazing, sir" said Darryl "Why would you offer it to me? I've fought your family more or less since I started school!"

"And your attitudes had reason; as we now know" said Severus "You've grown up rather a lot; and rather forcibly I'm afraid. If you'll give yourself completely to us, we'll give ourselves completely to you."

"I – yes I will" said Darryl.

Severus nodded.

"Then we'll get in a good quorum; you can blood with the Changs and Gorbrin and so on at school but we can get you protected now" he said.

"So THAT's what Gorbrin meant about being an honorary marauder doing what he could!" said Darryl. "He meant hurting for people and taking killing curses!"

"Quite so" said Severus.

Meeting people like the Malfoy Twins and David Fraser was a bit overwhelming; and their spouses; and Kinat Konal, the most famous goblin in England; and the most famous Seeker in the world next to Harry Potter, Viktor Krumm; AND Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy; others he did not know; and Darryl was more nervous than before exams, as he whispered to Mimi.

She held his hand.

And then they cut palms and were mingling blood with him; and Darryl felt that ringing in his whole being!

And then Mimi was kissing him; and he was kissing her; and life was better that he had known it could be, even with all his present miseries!

"Yuk" said Lilith "All my sisters are eating the faces of their various men; somebody hand me a bag."

She was cuffed by a selection of people.

The Yule holidays were short; and soon they were back at school and Darryl asked the head if he might share something with the school at large.

"Nothing that can shed any light on the damaged exam piece I suppose?" asked Dumbledore.

"No sir; but connected with why I was considered a good suspect or scapegoat" said Darryl.

"Very well; I'll give you the time" said Dumbledore.

Darryl accordingly addressed the school.

"As there have been goblins here who have been fair enough to accept my assurances of innocence over the affair of Brocklehurst's timer thingy, I had some help over the holidays in exploring my memories" he said.

"You can't have forgotten breaking it that quick can you?" jeered a Ravenclaw third year. Darryl ignored her.

"When I was not quite four, I watched my father in the throes of dying horribly" he said evenly "And associated the grip of the goblin servant woman who was trying to take me away with the horror of my father's screaming demise; I was dragged off to the care of house elves who would not – probably could not – explain to me what was happening to my daddy. Somehow the fear and revulsion of that gave me a fear and revulsion of goblins; and not a terribly positive view of elves. Now I know this I want to make public apology for having laid my fears on anyone here; because whilst it's all right for people to have a spider phobia having a goblin phobia is viewed rather more negatively. I believe the help I've received has helped me get over it. Thank you Professor" he bowed to Dumbledore.

The goblins in the school started the applause for the frank admission.

Gorbrin rose.

"May I say" he said "That as many of you know, I saw my dad murdered when I was seven; an age of more reason then three or four; and I hated and feared wizards until Dad Lucius came along and taught me that he was a man like my own dad; and if I'd been much younger I don't say that I'd have found it a prejudice the harder to overcome. Darryl Zabini, you have big ones made of steel."

And that evening Darryl discovered the secret of the disappearances because he was one of the ones disappearing into Myrtle's loo that the blood group had decided to drop under fidelius charm and move MSHG meetings to the Room of Requirements.

"I say, Zabini, you can't call me a wretched weevil any more, you're my brother now" said Kazrael gurning at him.

"Yes I can; all the more so" said Darryl "Small siblings are made to be sat on."

"Here, here" said Jaska from the position of being Kazrael's elder sister.

The youngest of the marauders celebrated the newest blood member with an impromptu concert on their latest toys; the newest thing out of Garjala's fertile brain in Weasely's Wizard wheezes; the fart organ. The instrument was a mouthorgan whose notes were differently pitched farting sounds.

Sirius groaned.

"And if you ask me the fertility of Garjala's mind is because it's well based in dung!" he said.

"The halls are alive to the sound of faaar-ting" carolled Bella, and had a two fingered cuff to the back of the head from Assim.

There was a sudden CRAC! And Kreacher appeared holding onto a cowed looking female elf.

"Kreacher has brought this stupid wretch to master Sirius to deal with!" squeaked the elderly elf "She is stupid and she lied to her master, Professor Dumbledore!"

"Tekky did NOT!" squeaked the elf "Tekky was not ORDERED to destroy the wicked girl's horrid work! Tekky wanted to save elvses!"

"What the – what, elf, could be damaging to an elf in a potion timing device?" said Sirius "This is Pearl's work we're talking about is it?"

"It is master; and this stupid wench boasted she saved us all from having time turned back to put us back under compulsion to self punish" said Kreacher "She is STUPID!"

"Certainly ill informed" said Sirius. "Listen elf! Where did you get the idea that Miss Brocklehurst's potion timing device was anything to do with sodding up elves?"

The elf folded her arms mutinously.

Kreacher whacked her across the back of the head hard.

"Answer my master!" he squeaked.

"SHAN'T!" said the elf.

"Oh well" said Lydia "_legilimens!_"

The elf squealed as Lydia plunged in to her thoughts.

"Mistress Lydia is very brave to rummage in that morass of ignorant stupidity and rank imbecility!" said Kreacher.

"You ain't far out, Kreacher mate" said Lydia "Well the little master who told this poor misguided elf such a lie about poor Pearl and her kitchen toy –er, timer – sorry, I can't take potioneering aids seriously – did NOT order her to do it; he told her all about this supposed elf-attuned time turner and suggested strongly that she smash it up and break all the parts that would enable it to be put back together again. Tekky, you've been used by a spiteful boy for some obscure purpose of his own; and you know that we marauders are dedicated to fair play and opposing racism so you KNOW we're not lying; or you jolly well ought to. Kreacher, that was well done!"

"Yeah" said Sirius "And y'know what? You won't accept clothes, but you bloody well WILL accept brotherhood!" he reopened the cut on his palm "Cut yours, Kreacher"

The elderly elf's ears went up and he watched all the others reopening their own cuts; and with tears in his eyes slashed his own palm and Sirius was the first to join to him.

Kreacher was crying; and knelt to Sirius as the blooding finished.

"Master should give Kreacher clothes" he said "It is unseemly that master's brother should be a slave!"

Sirius stripped off a sock quickly.

"Kreacher you shall have smart clothes of any sort you like!" he said.

"Kreacher likes black leather like Master – like Sirius – wears on his big muggle machine!" squeaked the elf.

"Hell's elf!" whispered Lydia to Mimi. Mimi worked on not laughing.

"And now" said Sirius grimly "Tekky must come to Dumbledore and tell him how she was deceived and lied to. Lydia, you never actually said who the er, little master was."

"Didn't I? Sorry" said Lydia "It was the Caterwauling Crow after all; and it WAS aimed at Pearl not Gorbrin."

"For goodness sake, why?" demanded Ming.

"Lord how should I know? He didn't tell Tekky THAT; only a pack of lies about Pearl being a racist" said Lydia.

"Hold on" said Ming "He asked Pearl to the ball last year and she said she'd rather go with Peeves – well so would I, actually in her shoes"

"Nothing wrong with Peeves" said Willow who had come along for the blooding "I've been to the ball with Peeves before now; he's all right."

"Only for you, because you're a weirdo" said Ming. "Any way, Leroy said he'd never forgive her, AS we were reminded because Venilia was pretty rude to him about his aspirations to Pearl's hand for a dance and he said the same to her and Venilia laughed and said he'd said the same to Pearl last year. 'Cos he asked again this year and kinda expected that she'd want someone with an artistic soul to commiserate with her artistic losses."

"Artistic my arse" said Lydia "It's a bit of clockwork. Pearl's a clever girl but you can't call a glorified alarm clock artistic, sorry."

"Well, nor's mine for that matter" said Ming "Well saleable but not in Gorbrin's class of decorative; though jewellery with a shield charm has to be fairly saleable too for that matter. But the point is he was expecting her – I bet – to have learned her lesson because she'd been punished, and should then appreciate his worth!"

"Is he really that much of a tick?" wondered Lydia.

"Yes" said Ming.

"Remember how he sent that nasty valentine to Auntie Connie!" put in Bella "That we poisoned him a little bit for!"

"Yeah, that WAS nasty, Kitten" said Mad. Bella squealed with delight to be dubbed 'Kitten'.

"Y'know, when we first met him on the train and tried to cure him of being an obnoxious little jerk he seemed quite gone on me" said Lydia "And Pearl's the same sort of Malfoy pretty. Actually she looks more Malfoy than me, despite not having any in her family tree for several generations."

"yeah, it does make you wonder if her parents were already quarrelling before she was conceived" said Chad "Okay, I know it's bitchy, but arranged marriages, y'know; rather archaic!"

Lydia put her hand to her mouth and coughed with the word

'HHHRAVENCLAW" in it.

Mad, Chad, Mei and Ming poked her and Jingji cast _avocado kedavra_ that bounced.

"That's why we poke her" said Ming to his young cousin "More certain."

"It seems a rather thin and wild motive" said Sirius dubiously "But I'll take it to Dumbledore anyway; come on Lekky or whatever your name is."

"Tekky" said the elf sulkily.

"Tekky then. Kreacher, you'll come with me?"

"Kreacher will take Sirius and this stupid elf to Professor Dumbledore right away" said Kreacher seizing Sirius' hand and Tekky's scraggy neck; paused, put his arm round her neck instead and snapped his fingers to apparate away.

"Eventful evening" said Lydia.

"Rather!" agreed Mei "Oh I AM glad to get it cleared up; but HOW I wish it had been Wilfrid Crabbe and not in my house; the head girl's house! And after my middles behaved so disgracefully! Darryl, I shall make them eat crow and make public apology; I already shouted at them and said they should be ashamed of themselves for ill bred jumping to conclusions now it's proven they jolly well shall be MADE to be ashamed of themselves!"

"There's no need" said Darryl.

"Oh but there IS, Darryl; EVERY need" said Mei dangerously quietly "They need to know that those who can't resist bullying any innocent man – and everyone should be innocent until proven guilty – get their comeuppance! This isn't for your convenience laddie; it's for the precedent to set for every prefect and head girl or boy from now until the last syllable of recorded time – there's some good lines in Macbeth – to use against unfounded accusations and picking on people. Once this goes down in the annals of the biggest and nastiest head girl punishment ever, nobody's going to start making unfounded accusations for a goodly while, trust me! They'll all write and sign abject apologies that will be pinned up in the great hall for a full year round AND I'll jinx the lot to wear for three days the word 'pratt' in boils on their foreheads."

"Crumbs that IS heavy!" said Gorbrin.

"And putting a youth under pressure in his OWL year is not? Excuse me, I think that it's as heavy as smashing Pearl's work. If Darryl hadn't seen sense and decided we were okay people he'd have been lonely, jinxed to hell without having started it and sent to Coventry like enough – not by us, but even having a few people hissing and booing when you go past if even if you've got good friends – I heard them Darryl and I took their names – is pretty wearing I should think. And if you've not got good friends, well, that's nervous breakdown time!"

"Okay, objection withdrawn" said Gorbrin.

"I'd better cut along to the head myself" said Mei "And clear it with him; I don't want to have him and me handing out punishments both to the gits."

"You should also liase with Heather Burns about doing the same to Michelle Makepeace" said Mortimer "And ask Makepeace if she thinks an elf or half elf should be treated any differently to any human; she's been hissing and booing alongside your crowd even though Maia's whacked her a few times. But ask her the question first; and then tell her she can be proud of her equality to be subject to the same discipline as the rest."

"I like" said Mei. "After all, I AM head girl not just head of house; and I'll involve Heather as her house head. Lumme what a bunch!"

"Us juniors are better, Mei" said Sextus.

"And a nice drop of leaven to my lump you warts and weevils are" said Mei going in search of the head.

It was perhaps the greatest joy for Kreacher to be introduced to the newly finished portrait of Regulus Arcturus Black – who had had a long chat with his brother and understood more of what was going on – as a brother, recognised for his valiant actions and loyalty.

And if Regulus was taken aback he blinked hard and accepted.

Much racism had been supported by Voldemort; and if Voldemort had endorsed something, Regulus was ready to deny it.

He found it highly amusing that Lilith giggled and explained that Voldemort had made a total miscount of the number of horcruces.

"And he had to balance it arithmantically with his name; and he reduces to seven, whichever way you look at it" said Lilith "And that's true of his original name too; though just 'Tom Riddle' comes to ten that he discarded; and 'Tom' is twelve; I wish it had been thirteen, it would have depressed him even more when Professor Dumbledore used just his first name. But the anagram 'I am Lord Voldemort' and 'Voldemort' both come to seven. Which made eight even LESS auspicious. But he was only a rote arithmancer" she added in scorn "It's a bit brute force using an anagram. If he'd changed his name to 'Gaunt' not 'Riddle' he might have had the power of eight squared to balance his horcruces and reduced further to ten or one; and ten symbolises rebirth and one is a singularity, absoluteness. LOTS more subtle. Like if he'd just lost the 'Marvolo'. But he wasn't that subtle; he was a neejit"

Next morning Alastor Moody was at the breakfast table; and the Marauders, who made it their business to know everything, knew that Madam Leroy and her sister and a free-lance quaestor had turned up; and Flitwick collected Amos Leroy after breakfast and took him to Dumbledore's study.

When the blood group also felt Harry Potter apparate in they were a trifle startled; and there was a war between Mei Chang as Head girl and Lydia Snape who claimed House matters to get him to sit at their table at lunch.

Harry smiled austerely with his best Severus look and joined the staff.

He did meet with the marauders later and told them that he had been called in because Madam Leroy had thrown hysterics and effectively accused Alastor of lying.

"What, old 'Constant Vigilance' himself?" said Lydia scornfully "She must have bats in her upper playing field!"

"I'm afraid, and in a medical sense, yes she has" said Harry "Albus has packed her off to St Mungo's; she literally cannot believe that her sweet little boy would write anonymous notes or use sly means to hurt people. Filius is to attend the hearing as the boy's adult representative; Alastor had suspicions that he was worth more to the aunt dead than alive. I wager she'll be selling her story 'how I had to live with the monster child' to Witch Weekly any month soon."

"It's not really his fault in some ways" said Lydia.

Ming and Pearl – she being the main victim as well as a very nice child – went to see Dumbledore.

"We're in Leroy's house as well as representing both groups" said Ming "And we would like to ask – and we have reason – if you managed to legilimens him from guzzle to zorch"

"Dear me, Mr Chang, where you children pick up such colourful expressions I do not know!" said Dumbledore. "I can safely say I know more about Mr Leroy than he knows about himself."

"Is he salvable?" asked Ming bluntly "'Cos sabotaging exams is five to ten in Azhkaban, we looked it up; and if he does a long stretch we think it's likely to make him a hardened criminal and he ain't hardly really yet and we wanted to write a round-Robin to the wizgamot if you think there's any chance he can be helped."

Pearl nodded.

"Bless my soul!" said Dumbledore "You children never cease to amaze me! Well, I can't say I'm certain; but you are right that Azkhaban would turn a weak character like his into a criminal. By all means, do write to the Wizgamot; it's insolence and interference and I'm absolutely delighted!"

The Wizgamot got a letter reading;

"Dear Wizgamot,

We know this is an impertinence but we the undersigned would like to ask for a degree of clemency for Amos Leroy even though he is an egregious brat and we dislike him very much. You see he can't entirely help being such a tick because his aunt is a grasping poisonous bitch and his mother's a drip and he's been spoiled rotten between being dragged around the world to squawk for fluffy old moos who probably like Celestina Warbeck too which goes to prove he's almost been subject to child abuse, so we should like to ask that if possible could he be given a sentence that is remedial rather than custodial – like having to live with a Quaestor or Auror and help in the community or something.

Thank you for your time in reading this"

And all the marauders and – with a bit of persuasion – the second blood group signed it as well as a few other people the Marauders thought it worth asking, like Venilia and Avice in the boys's year, and Jack Murray, no longer known as Me-first.

"And he did have every opportunity at school" said Jack "Same as I did. And I got over being a stuck up shit. Pity he didn't. I guess I could have tried harder when I started fitting in to help him; but he's the type of oik that makes you want to wring him 'til his hair bleeds."

This picturesque view was QUITE understood by anyone who had known Amos Leroy!

If some members of the Wizgamot grinned rather over the bizarre juxtaposition of the schoolchild terms mixed in with words like 'egregious' they also took the letter seriously; since the top name on it was that of the child who had suffered the criminal damage.

Nobody seriously wanted to put a boy not yet fifteen into Azhkaban. That had been the point of the reforms to the whole legal system.

The idea of putting a youthful criminal into the care of a quaestor or auror to rehabilitate them if at all possible had never occurred to anyone before; and the Wizgamot determined, assuming a fair trial proved the boy guilty – which with not one but two aurors' legilimensy reports seemed highly likely – to talk long to him in a relatively informal fashion and determine whether or not to accept the recommendation of the boy's peer group.

As Tiberius Ogden said, usually school children as a group were fair minded about their fellows save where any group had got it in for an individual.

"Miss Makepeace" said Mei Chang "I would like to know if you feel that as a half elf and of a minority race you should be treated in any way differently to any child of any other race?"

"Of course not!" said Michelle "Any discrimination is wicked and vile! And if you treat me any differently to anyone else I'll see the papers know all about it!"

"Try to write facts if you must be so rude as to circumvent your house head and the headmaster" said Mei dryly. "Very well; as you are happy to be treated the same you may go to my office and await with the other miscreants for the same head's impot."

Michelle opened her mouth in horror.

"Hoist by your own noisy little petard, kiddy" said Heather Burns.

"But I haven't done anything wrong!" said Michelle.

"Oh I'd say instituting ritualised bullying was very wrong" said Mei "It was your ill considered, inflammatory and lying letter to the Prophet that started other fools from interfering with the schoolwork of an exam year pupil; you've been sabotaging Zabini quite as thoroughly as Leroy sabotaged Brocklehurst. Now get to my office; you and the rest will hear all about it."

The ten or so Ravenclaw middles and fifth years who had been the main culprits and Michelle Makepeace had to stand and listen to Mei's dissection of their characters in a very effective verbal excoriation; and how disgusted she was that mostly members of her own house should be guilty of sabotage of not one but all the subjects of another OWL student by putting him under such pressure; and that had they been led by the initial victim they might have had some excuse but that since PEARL was content to let the matter be resolved by legal means they most certainly were guilty of excessive busybodyitis!

"But Mei, it's not like you marauders knew who it was and he was a reasonable suspect!" said Munin Corbin.

"No actually, he wasn't; because if it had been Zabini it would have been Gorbrin who was the intended victim; and that we know cleared Zabini who's not in any wise stupid. As to what we marauders knew, you don't know WHAT we knew; we had two suspects for a long while and one, Leroy, stronger than the other. But we had to wait for the final proof before acting; and WE acted according to the rules, because this wasn't some mischief to offer him the choice of us or a head's report. Leroy has been expelled and his wand broken; and he's up before the wizgamot. And if it had been him you were ragging for this, it would still have been unacceptable."

"Ragging's a rather childish word!" Munin protested

"Don't you think hissing, booing and spitting at someone is rather childish behaviour?" said Mei in contempt. "Right; each of you is going to write Mr Zabini an apology; which you will read out tomorrow morning after breakfast; and that will be pinned on the notice board for a year round. You will also have a three-day reminder of your stupidity; outside this room sundry prefects have been chanting up your secondary punishment and if I open the door they'll be ready to release it."

There were cries as heads tingled; and by glances at each other the afflicted saw that they probably bore the same word as all the rest; 'pratt'.

There was some outcry of horror.

"It's that rotten weevil's fault!" said Sampta Patil pointing at Makepeace "She's in Zabini's house so when she said it was him for certain what were we to do but believe her?"

"Ah Miss Makepeace, now perhaps you see what thoughtless slander leads to" said Mei "Though, Miss Patil, I should have thought that a big girl in the fourth might have learned just a teensy bit more by your age than a weevil and might just have learned to find things out by herself rather than relying on the indiscreet and unreliable gossip of weevils who are, as Mr Zabini says, lesser beings as a matter of course. Unfortunately his summation that the term lesser beings also refers to most Ravenclaws seems also to be born out by you losers. Now make yourselves scarce and get writing those apologies; if I don't have them by tomorrow morning you'll be in prefect deten every night until I do. Get out!"

They got; some stumbling and sobbing.

It may be added that as well as the written apologies of those interviewed by Mei Chang, two other apologies appeared by Cholaka and Arjelan, who apologised if any hasty words spoken by them fuelled the furore and were remembered though they had been convinced of Mr Zabini's innocence before the Ravenclaw witch hunt blew up.

It was nicely balanced to be both apology and snide snipe at the Ravenclaw contingent.

The school as a whole tried to settle down to normality and concentration on lessons; especially the exam years! It had made very little difference to the youngest years in the school to whom the affairs of the big ones were of no great moment save where it might be exploited to their own ends; though of course the two juniormost groups of Marauders kept themselves well informed about everything!

It upset Makepeace enough that she managed to summon a dozen or so frogs whilst trying to do a hopping charm and she promptly had hysterics.

Lilith sighed, banished the frogs, summoned a glass of glumbumble juice – a far too sophisticated a spell for anyone not studying a combination of Transfiguration and Potions to NEWT level – and made her drink it.

"Dear me!" said Professor Flitwick, surreptitiously using the revellaspell on the glass "Very er, enterprising Miss Snape!"

Lilith beamed at him.

It worked for Bella after all.

Makepiece tried to complain that Snape was bullying her and Professor Flitwick said,

"Nonsense, dear, she's doing her best to help – standard potion for hysterics you know, I know it's nasty but drink it down like a good girl."

"Huh, if I gave into inclination and bullied you, you wouldn't half know all about it" said Lilith "Don't be such a pain!"

"She threatened me with racist bullying!" said Makepeace "you HEARD her, Professor!"

"I heard her say she might LIKE to bully you; which is not at ALL the same thing; and where racist came into it when Miss Snape's background is such that she's the last child in the class likely to be racist I do not know!" squeaked Flitwick "You have racism so much on the brain my girl that you're in danger of becoming the only racist here!"

Several of the class broke into spontaneous applause.

"It's people like you what cause unrest!" said Gennar firmly "You're worse than ruddy Golgo you! And if you're so assured of your own superiority over everyone else like you seem to be, you're going the right way to end up like Amos Leroy too!"

From a goblin the comment about Golgo could scarcely be taken issue with!

And the idea of comparing her to Amos Leroy and saying that she was so stuck up was a shock to Michelle! She was beginning, just a little, to realise that her uncompromising stand on elven rights was not so much a virtuous stand in a sea of racism but actually made her unpopular not because people did not want to know about elven rights but because they already knew about them.

Makepeace had a skin as thick as an erumpant's hide but she was vaguely aware that perhaps she had not gone about her campaigning in the right way.

The moment of intense and worrying excitement for the blood group, and especially Lilith, was feeling Jade take and dissipate the killing curse, the joining of a new child almost imediately and Jade's absolute fury on behalf of this frightened and hurt child. Lilith and Lydia, being closest to Jade, picked up a lot more than Jade knew what she was leaking; and reported to a hasty meeting after school that what Lydia described, in a cod French accent as 'that Sccchrempf woman' had been torturing a junior and Jade had used ancient Egyptian magic to take her spiritually to pieces and pursue her burning ghost into the forest in the form of a big Jade Wolf.

"Sort of Natasha Kerensky meets Elizabeth Hazen" said Nathan, who had started watching Hawke's Battletech videos.

Lydia grinned.

"Sort of" she said. "It's a fey form; she can affect the insubstantial like that; you know Jade, she has to be thorough."

"She'll search her out and poke her through the veil in a year or two I expect" said Lilith "Jade's soft hearted like that. But I got the feeling off her she'd already rejected returning Hedda Schrempf to childhood because she has something wrong in her head that makes her nasty that Jade doesn't think she can fix; so it must be bad 'cos Jade can fix 'most ANYTHING!"

"And speaking of fixing" said Lydia "I thought the lot of us might chant to restore to Kreacher the lost years of his life damaged by that awful fluid and the inferii and the worry following."

"Oh YES" said Lilith "And we can do it by re-ravelling the ends of his chromosomes with the power of twenty-three factorial too! Jade's in no more danger; let's do it now!"

"Kreacher – _**I **_ would like that; and to be part of an experiment" said Kreacher.

Lydia had danced new life into Mrs Norris; to do so for a fully sentient person was harder, but not much so, with Lilith's research. And with the aid of all the others. And Kreacher straightened up, added his own willpower and grew into the half-elf form as Lydia drew out the great number around him and attached lines of colour drawn from his substance to indicate his whole heritance.

"Yes" said Lydia "It IS more natural; and when we look at your Malfoy lines there is an artificial attachment that makes elves small but with the big clever head; it IS a form made by the fey."

"I like to be taller; and I would like to make others walk tall even if they will not change form" said Kreacher.

And now perhaps the school might settle down to normal; and its worst vicissitudes the grumbles that the smaller boys made about having dancing classes and a dance every Saturday night for an hour. Albus Dumbledore had taken on board the idea that knowing the steps would help make up for a lot of the silliness and embarrassment at the Yule Ball; and that the exercise in this most inclement time of the year would be good for the children AND keep them out of too much mischief as a result of pent up high spirits.

Grumbles despite, the dancing was to go ahead; and other times set aside for dances for those who wanted to attend. This would mostly be girls of course; but not entirely. Especially after Lilith declared loudly that her set and Nathan's were ALL going to dance because sometimes dancing could take the place of chanting – IF you were good enough to make arithmantic patterns with your feet.

The two younger layers of Marauders fell resignedly into line. After all they had seen what Lydia had done dancing as part of her chant to aid Kreacher.


	14. Chapter 14

****__My apologies for late posting. My elderly white cat had a fatal heart attack over night and I'm rather at sixes and sevens. __

**Chapter 14**

Candace held tight to the goblin's hand on one side and to her sister Phyllis' on the other, surveying the huge castle and its big frozen lake.

"Her yer are kiddo, Hogwarts School fer witches and wizards" said the Goblin "I'll teke yer up t'the headmaster, and he'll see you all right."

"Thank you; you're awfully kind" said Candace "Coming all this way with us."

"Well, stand t'reason, can't leave little kids on their own to come here" said the goblin. He led them through the big entrance door past curious children in robes over ordinary looking school uniform and to a curious statue of a beast Candace didn't recognise.

"Gawd, wonder what it is at the moment… peppermint?" asked the Goblin.

"No" said the statue.

"Gi's a bleedin' clue mate, the head's going to want ter see these kids"

"The clue is, if you don't know you don't go up" said the statue

"And a lot of feckin' good you are" said the goblin in disgust.

One of the schoolchildren ran over.

"Chocolate frog" she said.

"Ta" said the goblin as the air-wafting tube opened and he hustled the little girls in. "Always sweeties, they say; guessin' which one, ar, that's the crunch."

"It's a good job that girl knew" said Candace gravely.

"See it's like this, Perfessor" said the Goblin "My name's Jorg by the way; and this little'un asked if I knew the way to Hogwarts school account of how I look like a magical creature. Well, she got knowledge to see me so strikes me she'd be coming to you of right, so I says I'll bring her and her sister; this being in Loughborough you understand and a powerful way from the castle if you're only a scrap what don't know about the Knight Bus; so I brung them."

"And a kind man you are too!" said Dumbledore effusively "Are you busy or will you stay to lunch with us at the staff table as a guest?"

"Cor, well I ain't that busy that I'd turn THAT down" said Jorg. "Wait downstairs, shall I?"

"I'll have an elf show you to the staffroom where you can get a cup of tea or coffee and be comfortable" said Dumbledore. "And then child you can tell me your name and why you are here."

"I'm Candace" said Candace "And you came to see my big brother Seth; and offered him a place at your school."

"Ah yes" said Dumbledore "Your parents were strongly against the idea; called me Satan, which was rather hurtful."

Candace nodded.

"They told Seth that he had been entered by the Devil if he was a witch and reminded him that the Bible says that you should not suffer a witch to live; and so he should know what to do to cleanse himself and lift the blight from the family. So he h-hanged himself" she said. Dumbledore gave a gasp of horror and she went on "And as I can see g-goblins Mr Jorg said they are I was scared and I don't want to kill myself! So I brought Phyllie and ran away. I – I can pay him back for the fare, I took money only he says wizard money is different."

"Oh we shan't let Jorg be out of pocket" said Dumbledore "I'm going to see he gets recognition for this; he didn't have to come all the way with you, he could have just put you on the bus."

"He said he has little girls my age" said Candace.

"Well you'll get to meet them when they and you are both old enough to enter the school properly" said Dumbledore. "Fortunately we have an orphanage here where you can stay in the meantime. Did you leave any note?"

Candace shook her head.

"I thought that was a bad idea" she said "I thought mummy and daddy loved us; if they loved us, why would they make Seth kill himself?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"I really don't know" he said putting an arm round each.

Both howled and he cuddled them, not far from tears himself.

With the two little girls installed into the orphanage Dumbledore got back to duties feeling aged and sick. Perhaps he was getting too old; two bad things in so short a time!

Lilith apparated directly into his office.

"Lilith my dear! What can I do for you?" he tried to make the effort. Not another emergency surely?

"You can sit down, Albus, while I make you tea" said the little girl firmly "And then you can tell me all about it; you're looking quite grey."

Dumbledore sighed. He felt quite grey.

"I suppose you'll manage to find out all about it anyway; your sources are impeccable I'm sure" he said; and proceeded to tell her, as she scrambled onto his lap and put her arms around him.

"I should have realised they meant the boy harm; I didn't pick up on it! And on top of failing with Amos Leroy, I'm wondering if it's not time for me to stand down as head" he sighed heavily.

"Well that's a lot of silly nonsense and not what I'd expect from my wonderful headmaster!" said Lilith briskly "Leroy was untameable; came to us too late, I guess. I blame the parents. Well, and the aunt" she added "Which comes to the same thing. And if this boy was quoted at from the Bible I bet it was some ultra fundamentalist family and the whole ritual shit blocked out your normally exceptional powers of half legilamency and half guessology because no REASONABLE person could expect people to make away with their own child – which is effectively what they've done! I mean, you might guess the weirder would beat him cruelly to drive out the devil like they did to mummy in the orphanage but s'not a think anyone'd think of, is it?"

"Do you really think so?"

"Course I do! I'm certain! And I say, you have the chance to save his sisters and I think we ought to fit up the parents for their murder 'cos they HAVE murdered this Seth morally speaking, haven't they?"

"They have" said Dumbledore "You mean have them blamed by the muggle police?"

"Erzackly" said Lilith "It'll be a nice little piece of transfiguration to make simulacrums of their bodies but I can make like it's their DNA because of the power of twenty-three – I say, Professor I've found a load about it that we need to sit on 'cos it means if you use it right you could drop a death spell on just goblins or just elves or just Snapes who walk through the enchanted zone because of its tie to DNA – what makes people be people and defines all their characteristics familial and so on – because it's the magicalest number ever and I need to tell Professor Vector that I'm not going to release all my findings 'cos I need to put that in the book of wickedness in the marauding room and only there" Lilith came up for air.

"Indeed! Well I don't like suppressing information but if it can do all you say – and I don't disbelieve you, my dear – then I can quite concur with that decision!" said Dumbledore. "And if you can use it to make these wicked parents not track down their other children to hurt them….alas that it is too late for Seth and I never managed to help him!"

"I bet they scared him half silly with being punished in the afterlife too" said Lilith shrewdly "Chances are poor little scrote's a ghost. There's a precedent and it still isn't illegal. We can get blood of his parents and his bones and dad'll brew up a potion and I – I should think us weevils will muck in to sacrifice some flesh for him to draw him out of the cauldron 'cos he should have been one of us" she said "It- it's only pain."

"No, my child; I will draw him from the cauldron. I left him to die; unwittingly but even so it is my responsibility. I will draw him forth and he will then be another son for me."

Lilith grinned.

"I dunno that Lydia can make him entirely yours; I 'spect he'd used to being as black as the ace of spades – I saw his sisters – and wouldn't like to get blue eyes and fair skin all of a sudden."

"Oh he'll be my kin in blood shared" said Dumbledore "Perceval was at risk of being found by Odessa; that was why Lydia changed HIS familial traits."

"Be easier another time using the power of twenty-three" said Lilith. "Why even Lycidice could surely manage if someone else wrote the chant for her! Well maybe not" she amended "But it'd be child's play. Are you feeling happier, Albus?"

"I – yes somewhat. I don't want to retire I just wondered if I'd made too many errors of judgement."

"Oy! Less of that!" said Lilith.

"The child is remarkably pert" said the portrait of Phineas Nigellus.

"Not as pert as someone who sulks so much at daddy he waggles his bottom out of his portrait like a street walker" said Lilith "I'm a child so being childish is reasonable; it isn't for grown ups."

"She has a point, Phineas" said Dumbledore.

Phineas Nigellus sniffed, much offended!

Somehow that helped Dumbledore's mood!

"Daddy would urge you not to retire" said Lilith "You've turned around so many people; like him and loads of others, and made a good atmosphere for people like David Fraser to work on people like Lionel and for Mimi to steal Darryl and I think you're the bestest and to want to quit just because you're not Merlin, The Chosen One and Paracelsus all rolled into one with extra bells and whistles on is downright silly. You might have missed a clue; you might have made a mistake. But I betcha no-one else would have realised it either!"

"Thank you my dear; I do hope you are right" said Dumbledore.

"It's a distressingly bad habit of mine to be right and likely to spoil me too daddy says" said Lilith "And if you like I can go snoop in fey space and see if he IS a ghost."

"Well my dear, if you feel confident using that remarkable means of travel I think that would be very useful" said Dumbledore "But I should like you to go with someone else; one of your sisters perhaps."

Lilith nodded.

"All right; I'll see if Mimi will. And me an' the other marauders will see about setting up the dead bodies. I need to do some research of muggle news; they've had some horrid murders of children for supposed magical ritual; not real stuff but it won't be quite as much of a surprise to muggle police if I make like it's similar. Some muggles are gruesomely primitive. Still, when you see some of the bully-boys in Obscura Alley it kinds makes you realise muggles aren't the only ones" she added pulling a face. "And the Goyles are distinctly sub-human – rather like my not-so illustrious Gaunt ancestors!"

The juvenile ghost was sobbing gently and Lilith emerged from feyspace with Lydia, thinking that Mimi might be too much for the boy just yet.

He gasped.

"Witchcraft!" he said "Get- get thee behind me satan!"

"Oh don't talk such bull" said Lilith "We're just as good Christians as you actually we're better Christians than you 'cos we believe God is a God of love not unnatural intolerances like your rotten parents that made you kill yourself."

"But the Bible says, you shall not suffer a witch to live.." began Seth.

"You don't read very well, do you?" said Lilith "It ACTUALLY says, 'he that lieth with a beast is surely a witch and you shall not etcetera. It's a word that was picked to put the frighteners into primitive desert sheepherders to stop them shagging sheep. It spoils the meat for one thing and might cause diseases same as syphilis which comes from llamas."

"Lilith where do you pick up all this?" Lydia was faintly horrified "And how do you know about sheep shagging at your age?"

"I read muggle newspapers" said Lilith. "Look here, Seth, you're a ghost; only wizards get to be ghosts, well and witches too. But because you died of wickedness we might be able to put you back in your body and then you could be a proper wizard and go to Hogwarts and find out all about the odd things that happen and how to control them."

"But I'll burn in Hell!"

"Stuff and nonsense!" said Lydia "When you die properly you'll go through the veil and be with other dead people where hate doesn't exist any more; meantime if you stay as a ghost you'll just be lonely and miserable, never able to grow up or move on. If you want to die properly we can help with that instead but don't you WANT to explore the God-given talent of your magic and use it to help people? If you don't want to develop it and abrogate responsibility you're like the man who Jesus told, 'give away all your wealth and follow me' who couldn't do it because he wanted to hang onto the irrelevancies of life."

"I – at least I'm near my parents!"

"Yeah? And I bet they try to get you exorcised if they can see you" said Lilith. "Acksherly, judging by the bell, Book and candle on the table they're planning on trying."

Seth cried more.

Lydia sighed, did the complex transfiguration and put an arm around him.

"Come back to Hogwarts Castle with us at least" she said "And take time to take stock; your sisters are there, they fled to safety afraid your parents would kill them for being able to see magical things."

"NO! Surely they wouldn't?" cried Seth.

"Well you know better than me about them I suppose" said Lydia "But they've pushed you into doing the deed for them haven't they, so they don't get had up by the fuzz?"

He stared; and cried again.

"Crumbs he's as bad as Myrtle ever was!" said Lilith.

"He HAS got good cause" said Lydia "Come on Sobbing Seth; I'll give you directions and we'll meet you there; unless you want to get exorcised. I'm told by other ghosts it's remarkably painful."

"Seth, I am so sorry I have caused this!" said Dumbledore "I've met parents that were disbelieving, those that were frightened, those that thought it freaky; but never any that would make their own child kill himself! I left them – and you – to get used to the idea, because some people reject the offer initially then change their minds when they've had the chance to ponder. I – it never occurred to me that something so terrible would happen; or I would have privately offered you the chance to come away with me, or if you too hated the idea I should have made you all forget I had ever been there. It's what one generally does if the whole knowledge of our world frightens people the offer is made to. Can you forgive me?"

"I – well, yes sir; you didn't know" said Seth "Oh please, you've got such kind eyes, I don't think Satan would have KIND eyes, would he?"

"I'm generally accounted a man who fights for good" said Dumbledore "I've never been called Satan before."

"Professor Dumbledore is just about one of the kindest people in the world" said Lilith "And calling him Satan is most awfully rude and unkind! People who call names are bullies; so just you stop bullying Professor Dumbledore, you!"

"He does not mean it for rudeness, Lilith" said Dumbledore "He wants to know what made his parents call me so; and that is because of fear. Fear of the unknown; fear of something not covered in their rather narrow God-view. What people do not understand, they fear; what they fear, they fight. Sometimes they nail people to trees because they fear them. Seth has been taught imperfectly and incompletely in the way his parents follow. Not all people believe in God as you do Seth; we have a very secular schooling because we do not intrude on the personal beliefs of our pupils. You would not have organised religion here! But if you want permission to go to the kirk in the nearest village, that can be arranged easily enough and you will not be stopped!"

"Och and they're awfu' austere bodies for a' that" murmured Lilith. Lydia clipped her across the back of the head with two fingers.

"We can help you come to terms with the idea of being a wizard" said Lydia "And I think you should come and be a comfort to your sisters; they're very much upset. Then we can start to work out the most auspicious time to put you back together. I do HOPE you weren't cremated; it makes life harder."

"I – I think I was" said Seth.

"Meh, we'll come up with something" said Lilith "Even Fishface managed it with a bit of his dead father's bone; we'll have ashes and I 'spect he's got ancestors; piece o' piss!"

The ceremony would certainly be a significant one; and moreover Dumbledore was not happy to have anyone but Severus run it, and spoke to him with a direct mental link.

"I'm not wholly sanguine about the result" said Severus dubiously "We had so much going for us with Myrtle; willing parents, the whole blood group; specific counters to her means of death. This child is a suicide; even though it wasn't exactly his idea. We need the support of the sister, freely given; and some of her blood if she'll give it: and I'm not sure you'll pull it off yet if he isn't blooded in. Is he blood group material?"

"I really am not sure, Severus; he's one mixed up lad at the moment. He doesn't want to be dead; he's scared to be alive. The only thing he gets animated about is the care of his sisters."

"Then if you'll take my advice, Albus, you'll delay the ceremony. Prepare everything; the ashes of his body, bones of his ancestors if you can get them; the blood of his parents; and let the kid interact with the weevils he should have been with and get to be friends with the youngest marauders. Then by the long holidays you can see if he's ready to be put back together. I'll sort out a number of dates based on his birth date and death date and then when he's ready we can take the next convenient one – Odessa permitting – to put him together. And if by then he's ready to be blooded you should know. Let Lilith loose on him."

"She already has been; he hasn't recovered yet" said Dumbledore "You rather know when you've been Lilithed; she bullied me into not resigning because I got rather upset over this."

"So I should think! Albus, you are the best thing that ever happened to so many kids at Hogwarts; you're the only father I've ever had, and I shouldn't think I'm the only one. Horace isn't exactly fatherly. Now dry up and stop spouting such drivel about retiring; I expect Lilith said it in more or less as many words too."

Dumbledore managed a laugh.

"Something like that!" he said.

Lilith was busy explaining to Seth that until or unless he made up his mind to be alive he'd better stay in Myrtle's loo out of the way of the other ghosts because they'd thrown a jealous hissy fit about Myrtle, who was a little girl ghost, being put back into her body.

Seth got a bit hung up on resurrection and Lilith talked very fast about it being entirely different because it was kind of a high level cure because he hadn't died properly because if he had his soul would have gone beyond the veil instead of hanging around betwixt and between.

"And either you ought to die properly or live properly" said Lilith "Because being a ghost is the cowardly way out and most people that choose it aren't really happy. I'll get the Bloody Baron – Sir Edward – to talk to you; he won't kick up a palaver. He's thinking about going beyond the veil anyhow, so if you want to finish dying he might well take you and if you want to finish living he'll back you up."

"I'm NOT a coward! If I was a coward I should have run away instead of going through with hanging myself!" said Seth.

"Well all right; but not making up your mind now you have time to think and less people in your ear would be a bit cowardly if you left it too many years" said Lilith "If you ask me, if you're not a coward you are a nijit because you ought to of run away and told the fuzz your parents wanted you to kill yourself and protected your sisters; I bet you end up in Gryffindor House, too much self-sacrificing beef-witted courage and nobility oozing out of any pore to have any common sense; but then boys don't have a whole lot of common sense to start off with. I have brothers so I know" she added.

"You're the rudest girl I ever knew!"

"Well, someone has to tell it like it is; Professor Dumbledore suffers from an excess of fine feeling and guilt that he didn't spy on your parents' thoughts AND he's a Gyff himself which means he has an excess of nobility so it has to be me. I'm a Slytherin so I'm supposed to be coldly pragmatic. I'm trying to help you, you know; though as I don't know you well enough to know if I'm going to like you or not it's mostly for the sake of helping Albus Dumbledore's fit of Gryffish conscience. And if you start crying again I'm going; you're a big boy of eleven and far too old to meep like a moppet Phyllis' age. Dry up do! If you're so troubled by religious fervour why don't you PRAY for goodness sake? It's what God's there for! Honestly!"

Seth was faintly offended but also filled with guilt that the thought had not occurred to him.

And Lilith dragged her set into Myrtle's loo to do homework and get to know Seth in case he joined them at school either as a ghost or as a weevil.

That the rest of the first were not displeased to be rid of Lilith from the common room or a prep classroom has to be mentioned; Lilith had inherited her mother's tendency to argue out loud with text books.

The other Striped Marauders just threw cushions at her as she told her Geomancy text book loudly that it had to be joking and what about direct nodal transfer?

"Direct nodal transfer is what big people talk about you baboon" said Sextus. "Ley line sliding is the fastest form of transport – at the level we're going to use yet. Put a sock in it and just write the ruddy essay according to what Padfoot wants, and directly transfer your nodes on your own time."

"I don't know how!" said Lilith.

"Hallelujah, then if there's something you don't know you can have the fun of learning like the rest of us" said Gennar.

Lilith brightened.

"There is that!" she said.

"I say, is that how you came to find me?" said Seth "This ley line sliding?"

"No; but we could have done if I hadn't had another means at my disposal" said Lilith "It's sort of a long story."

"Well, I'm not exactly going anywhere, am I?" said Seth.

"Well maybe not, you poor prune, but if I take time out to tell you the only place I'm going is deten with an impot for shirking" said Lilith, rolled her eyes and added as he looked confused "Detention; with an imposition of lines for failing to do my work adequately. Didn't you READ any school story books? Even Jennings?"

"Hey, nothing wrong with Jennings" said Gennar.

"I haven't read any school stories" said Seth.

"Never mind Seth mate; nor have I" said Kazrael

"Nor me" said Jayashree.

"I only read the Cassie books right before I got to come to school" said Venus.

"well when we finish our prep I'll see about starting you on some of the whys and wherefores" said Lilith. "Throw me the atlas Sec"

Sextus threw her the atlas with force and accuracy and Lilith fell over catching it, giggling.

"Why not _accio_ it?" said Gennar.

"Because mummy caught me using _accio_ in the hols and though I hadn't bothered with a wand she thought it was good discipline for me to use my little hands and feet and not do it the lazy way in case some warped old moo from the ministry caught me doing magic out of school" said Lilith.

"Aren't people allowed to do magic out of school?" asked Seth.

"Not until we're adults – seventeen. It's tied to the wand though; they can tell where a wand is, so if you can cast wandless you're home and dry because if no wand is in the vicinity of unauthorised magic it's assumed to be juveniles under the age of wand use, who do magic spontaneously and are exempt from the rules not being supposed to be hard enough to do any damage, especially without a wand. A wand is a focus; like using a magnifying glass held in the sun to set a piece of paper alight" Lilith explained. "I'm technically under age to use a wand and I'll be elderly by the time I'm allowed to, or rather I'll feel elderly 'cos I came up early to stop me climbing the walls in boredom at home and interfering with Daddy's NEWT students – that's wizarding 'A' levels. He's a headmaster in another school. So I've decided I'm going to take an OWL in every subject there is and a NEWT in every subject there is and then see where I'm at. I'm taking three OWLs this year."

"She's a genius; get used to it Seth" said Sextus "The rest of us have had to. It's a pain at times and we never actually tell her we're proud of her but when it gets too much we hit her with cushions and tickle her."

"Do you mind that she's rude?" asked Seth.

"We call it 'blunt and forthright' so we feel better about it" said Sextus "Isn't that right, half-pint?"

Lilith stuck out a forked tongue.

Seth cried out in horror.

"It's all right" said Venus "She's a snake animagus; can change into a snake. Only she can do the partial change when she's feeling particularly ornery."

"Lilith is a demon's name" said Seth.

"Yeah, very apt" said Gennar

"There's a carving on some cathedral or other with this Lilith demon with a snaky tail and mum was pretty certain I would be a snake animagus so she thought it would be appropriate; and there was a special person in dad's life, who's dead, called Lily and it's partly to honour her" said Lilith serenely. "Your name means 'a substitute' because Seth was the spare after Cain murdered Abel; not a name to give as a first born. Still it could mean you're due a substitute body so there's that to consider. And Candace has a name that isn't even a name because it's a title; the queen of Ethiopia was The Candace" –she pronounced it can-da-chay in the correct manner – "not NAMED it. It's like calling her Regina or more commonly Queenie. And Phyllis means 'leafy' so you'd expect her to be a dryad; or good at herbology."

"How do you know all this?" asked Seth.

"Oh names are most awfully important" said Lilith "Especially if you use Finnish naming magic; teamed with elder futhark runes it's tremendously powerful to know the meaning of a name as well as –I SAY!" she yelled "Merlin's beard in stripes of purple under hair-raising potion!"

"What?" said Sextus mildly.

They were all used to Lilith.

"His name – Seth – Substitute – naming magic; it wasn't in such general use for Myrtle when they put her back together, it'll make it easier, we can carve appropriate runes, Hebrew I should think, on the cauldron as the potion's brewing and make an appropriate chant; piece o' piss! He reduces to seven by the bog standard Pythagorean numerology and it gets a nawful lot more complex if we try to do it in Hebrew but in at least two systems he reduces to two so there's something in that to work on for timing and things with dates to add to runes and stuff."

"Naming magic isn't exactly in GENERAL use nowadays" said Sextus answering her earlier comment.

"Well it is in our lot" said Lilith "I can't help it if most of the wizarding world are sad little gits a zillion years behind us."

"She said a lot of wizards are a bit conservative and don't like new things" giggled Venus.

"Only it isn't new 'cos wizards were using it centuries ago only in the silly centuries it all got forgotten about" said Lilith. "We are just rediscovering old techniques and having the courage to mix and match with stuff from other places. Mind, I'd be most awfully chary about using some other people's other traditions; I sure do NOT want to involve the spirit or high sidhe commonly known as Dr Samedi; I'd be scared of getting the Ghede side."

"I've heard about that – my parents are really against Voodoo" said Seth.

"Yeah, well I'm a little against something that relies on owing favours to rather dodgy beings of indeterminate origin" said Lilith "Or that needs zombies to do stuff; yuk! We've looked at it in Comparative Magic and it makes Stripes' tail twitch."

"He has NEVER been teaching us in tiger form!" said Jayashree.

"No; but can't you just FEEL him tense enough that his tail would twitch if he was wearing it?" said Lilith.

"Oh. Yes I suppose so" said Jayashree.

"However many forms to people have?" asked Seth.

"Oh most people don't; being an animagus is quite rare, but our group has quite a lot" said Lilith "Padfoot – Professor Black – is a dog. Jayashree here is a tiger; she and Professor Khan are different but not enough to let it upset you yet."

"Do you have nicknames for all your teachers?" asked Seth.

"Only the ones we like; and those who have a special relationship with the group and you'll probably find more about that when we tell you history but I wish everyone would shut up, I'm having trouble calculating seven factorial" said Gennar.

"Five thousand and forty, you prune; same as the number of feet in a wizarding mile. Obviously" said Lilith.

"Oh is THAT why a wizarding mile is different to a muggle mile!" said Gennar.

"Well OBVIOUSLY" said Lilith.

Gennar threw a cushion at her.

Seth was glad to be with this quarrelsome but obviously very close group; his family's religion had been rather a matter of teasing at his own primary school, and he had been rather a lonely little boy. Feeling different and wondering why sometimes his fingers lit with flames had not helped.

He was starting to feel almost a sense of belonging; and to warm to the idea of actually living and being with these children!


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Padfoot heard Lilith's clear voice raised as he approached the fist year geomancy class

"You know, Professor Black had a most unfortunate experience in the Yule Holidays."

"Oh, what?" another child said. Padfoot grinned wryly; she KNEW he was in earshot little monkey; this was aimed at him.

"Well, you know he's a dog animagus? Oh surely you do!" said Lilith "Anyway, he was changing into dog, and he didn't know that the place he was doing it had been used for illicit apparation practice, and left a magical bad zone effect; and when he was in dog form he was quite without his nose!"

"Without his nose? But how did he smell?" Gennar's well primed voice came in quickly.

"TERRIBLE!" said Lilith.

The class groaned!

Sirius walked into the classroom and gave Lilith the obligatory two fingered rebuke to the back of the head.

"I love you too, Lilith Snape" he said.

Lilith grinned at him.

Bella was meanwhile having tiger withdrawal symptoms.

"We're a lot more sophisticated than when we set up a doorway to make people stripy" she said "Hows about we make a section of corridor to cure people of not being tigers?"

"Isn't it repeating?" said Isobel.

"Kinda, but this time we make it so that when they've passed through the T-zone they turn back" said Bella "So we shouldn't have anyone getting too waxy about it. Or do you think it should be the S-zone, S for stripy?"

"T-zone sounds better" said Mimi. "We can use Lilith's calculations on the number twenty-three to be sure and not harm anyone."

"Excellent!" said Bella.

Bella believed firmly in using Arithmancy where possible; and because it did not come as naturally to her as it did to some people she had voluntarily put in a lot of time in all her holidays practising and catching up.

Bella's idea of catching up was to be at least a year ahead of the rest of the class.

They defined an area of corridor with Sanskrit, using all the words they could find meaning tiger; Shehr Khan, Babar and Viagra, wrote them in an oval shape encompassing the stretch of corridor, twenty-three times and chanted them the same number of times in what Bella felt was appropriate rhythm; added a cancelling spell to the outside edge of the oval; and then stood by to watch.

The first person they caught was Madam Bathsheba Babbling who was frowning hard thinking about something, dropped to all stripy paws and carried on without noticing for a moment and was just realising that she was a tiger as she exited the zone at the other end.

She stopped, noticed the runes and beamed.

"Oh beautifully done!" she said "And may I say an excellently contrived, if slightly frivolous application of theory! You chanted too?"

"Yes, Madam Babbling" said Bella "We used Arithmancy too to pick the number of repeats."

"Well well! Very creditable! You may all write it up for me as compensation for the loss of dignity to a member of staff" said Madam Babbling.

"Yes, Madam Babbling!" they chorused.

"She really is a decent old stick" said Bella as soon as she was certain Madam Babbling was out of earshot. "That's a sensible sort of impot to set; and I certainly don't mind doing THAT."

Several other people were duly caught; and most went off muttering faintly but otherwise mollified that the fur and stripes disappeared once they passed over the other end; and Bella had to call out to a shocked Munin and Hugin Corbin that if they kept on going being tigers would wear off.

A selection of first years, hearing about the jape tuned up just to be tigers – they made cute cubs – and proceeded to cavort happily purring in a giggly sort of way within the zone.

"Here, beat it you weevils!" said Bella wrathfully "How can we catch anyone else if you give the game away by being determinedly tigers in the middle of the corridor?"

"Because it's enough, Bella" said Assim Khan's purry growly voice behind her. Bella turned and beamed at him.

"I wanted to cure people of not being tigers!" she said.

"Indeed?" said Assim "Most people ask for cures first you know; though those weevils seem happy to be cured of not being tigers. I think the corridor should return to normal however as we have a visit of the governors."

"Oow" said Bella "Lucius wouldn't mind, and I don't much care about the rest."

"Madam Longbottom won't mind either" said Mimi "Oh PLEASE Professor Khan, can't you just warn them and let them play with it if they want to? It does most awfully show our virtuosity and isn't that a credit to the school? It's not like it was wand work in the corridors!"

"Hrrr" said Assim "I will speak to the governors and ask if they would like to experience a harmless jape."

Bella squealed with delight.

"Stripes you ARE the best!" she said.

"A jape without breaking school rules about wands in the corridor? There's something almost immoral in that level of legality!" laughed Lucius.

"I consider it most proper to observe the rules" said Herbert MacMillan stiffly "And, if it is a harmless but amusing jape, most enterprising. What, er, does it do?" he asked.

Bella beamed at him.

"It cures people of not being tigers!" she said.

Mr MacMillan blinked.

"Er… a human transfiguration? Isn't that risky?" he said.

"Not with the new research into the use of the number twenty three in the arrangement of the chant" said Bella. It had been decided by the marauders that allowing SOME knowledge of the properties of the number's ties to the human condition was desirable to aid medical magic and on the premise that SOMETHING would leak out about it anyway; that if declared openly would probably cause less of a stir than if someone found out that something was being concealed.

"Ah, not really my thing, Arithmancy" said Mr MacMillan.

"It looks most properly done" said Lucius "As you all know I took NEWTs in Ancient Runes, Transfiguration and Arithmancy as well as Potions and Charms; and now I've been brushing up my informal knowledge of chanting to be an examiner I really am most impressed. I think I really must try a cure for not being a tiger" and he stepped into the zone, padded across and returned to normal on the other side.

"Quite exhilarating" he said "Your obsession with tigers makes a little bit more sense now, Bella! Go on, Herbert; be a sport!"

"Well well!" said Herbert Macmillan stepping gingerly into the zone and padding through. "Indeed yes, Lucius, I see quite what you mean; very er, liberating!" he said as he returned to human. Bella squealed with delight.

"You ARE a sport, Mr Macmillan!" she said "I bet Albert takes after you, though he IS an arithmancer."

"Albert? I though my nephew was a squib?" said Mr MacMillan. Bella shook her black curls firmly.

"Oh NO sir; that's just Camilla-speak for 'it's not fair that my younger brother is cleverer than me'" she said "Albert's going to work with Gorbin and Meliandra as a Finder for them when they're aurors; he'll be taking divination, geomancy and Arithmancy to NEWT you know to do that."

"Well well!" Herbert MacMillan beamed. He liked what little he had seen of his young nephew and did NOT like the way his youngest brother spoke so dismissively of – and to – the boy. If the boy was THAT clever he would take great pleasure in telling Sebastian so. "I must make an effort to see the lad and encourage him before we leave. Augusta, Ransley, are you going to be cured of not being tigers?"

"Oh certainly" said Madam Longbottom "My grandson Neville has a lot of time for chanting; it's Severus Snape's skill that brought it back of course and he's been a great comfort to Neville in the Voldemort years!"

She sashayed thought the T-zone with a grace that brought applause from the Belle Marauders.

Ransley Corbin was scowling, his mouth compressed; he did NOT want to, as he saw it, make a fool of himself by being some fool creature!

"What er, what is the nature of the research into the number twenty three?" he asked. It did not do for a Ravenclaw to seem ignorant about an academic matter!

"It's because the muggles discovered that at a cellular level, the way humans inherit is broken into twenty three lists of information" said Mimi "As can be shown using Malfoy Lines on a Revellaspell. Because of this using the number twenty three in any chant to use medical magic or other human transfiguration makes the whole business much less risky."

The relationship of the factorial of twenty three to the gaps between the gene clusters was NOT going to be revealed.

"Well well! Ingenious!" said Mr Corbin. "I suppose I had better undertake this effect myself" he said without enthusiasm and proceeded to do so, turning excitedly as he came out. "You left the brain intact? Was that deliberate or an accidental side effect of the use of twenty three?"

"Deliberate of course sir!" said Bella, hurt "How can anyone enjoy being a tiger if they don't know they're them being it?"

"Bella, your GRAMMAR" said Lucius, wincing "You pull off a chant like that and then construct such a sentence? Preposterous!"

Bella beamed at him.

"My grammar's more betterer when I use it deliberately in chanting" she said.

Lucius shuddered.

"I think Miss Black, you might want to concentrate on improving your everyday spoken grammar" said Madam Longbottom dryly "In case you accidentally use poor construction in a chant you put together on the fly. Bad habits are ALWAYS going to come back to haunt you, you know!"

"Yes Madam Longbottom; sorry Madam Longbottom" said Bella, chastened.

Augusta Longbottom had that effect on people. Even Lucius.

Sirius sent for Bella

"You and Assim have a fair bit of tension between you" he said "I know; I recognise the poor fellow's feelings; been there with Willow. I didn't think you'd want to spoil what's building between you after you'd started er, pursuing a more ah, exploratory path with each other with the memories of you former life hanging over you; and I asked Krait too what she thought and she pointed out that actually you're older than you were when Tom Riddle started on you. And I wanted to check whether you wanted to just not know; or whether you wanted to see the way he entrapped you."

Bella gasped; she was white.

"I NEED to know" she said staunchly. "I need to understand what can be done to someone as strong minded as me to make me from a bit of a princess into a double-dyed bitch."

"I take it you'd like Assim along?"

She nodded gratefully.

"And Mimi; I think Krait's prepared her. And – and it would be nice to have a girlfriend along too."

Sirius nodded.

The Pensieve was in Assim's room; it smelled nice, Bella said, and she needed that. Mimi took one hand and Assim took the other; and they plunged in.

Again Sirius had taken significant memories to blend one into another to give a story.

Tom Riddle knew so much; the young girl was fascinated by his charm and sophistication.

Tom made a lot of the girl's noble and ancient lineage; flattered her. And then he started little, seeming accidental touches; an earnest hand on her arm; brushing against her. The first Bella was plainly excited, flattered, aroused; and then he skilfully moved on towards full scale seduction; and seduction of the will too, promising that she would rule only slightly below him as queen.

"Fear me, love me, worship me, adore me and I will be your slave" muttered Bella.

"Even so Jareth was a way nicer character then Tom Marvolo Riddle" said Mimi.

"Yeah; he's obviously a Malfoy" said Bella.

The scene was of Bella, a little scared, yet eager; ready to become Tom's lover.

And he used his wand.

Bella gasped; but the cries from the young girl on the bed were not screams of agony from the cruciatus curse that she half expected; but moans of pleasure and uncontrolled writhing of ecstasy.

"What a spell to hit the pleasure centre not the pain? Seems unRiddle-like" muttered Bella.

"Keep watching" said Sirius, in a sick voice.

It was soon apparent to a sophisticated and worldly wise Bella, so different to the spoilt baby, that Riddle was using the spell to induce an addiction in her former self; and then the self-styled Lord Voldemort said softly,

"Nothing comes without a price, Bellatrix."

"D-do it again, Master, do it again!" she had already succumbed to calling him master by this time.

"Only with the price."

She nodded eagerly; and this time with the pleasure spell was the cruciatus curse.

The modern Bella gasped in horror at the image of the girl, now almost identical in age to herself, writhing and screaming in equal pain and pleasure.

And the image ended.

"There's more of course" said Sirius "But I can't see that we need to subject you to more of the same. He twisted pain and pleasure together in her mind; and what I shan't show you is how he started casting the pleasure spell on her as she cast the cruciatus curse on helpless muggles and goblins. That I tell you about; but I don't think it can do you any good to have to see that. So now you know."

"I think," said Bella in a hard little voice, "he had more to it than making an adoring consort. He was a half blood of a poor inadequate little witch and a stuck up muggle; he picked other Bella deliberately because it gave him the chance to humiliate and drag down the Noble House of Black."

"I wouldn't say you're wrong at that" said Sirius.

"Assim, I think I need a fluffy white tummy as well as Mimi and Padfoot" said Bella.

Assim just changed without question and Bella buried herself in his fur and sobbed. Gently his rough tiger tongue washed her and he wrapped big velvet paws protectively around her, purring encouragingly.

"I want to bring this Riddle back to rend him open with my teeth and claws!" he growled in his thickened tiger voice.

"You and me too, Stripes mate" said Sirius. "When I first saw this I half considered asking Krait for the Gaunt ring that is the Peverell stone of resurrection to bring him back to work over; but for one thing I'm better than that; and for another – and I'm afraid it was the first logic that struck me before I found I do have a better self – he's in too many shattered pieces for it to be meaningful."

"I should think each broken part of his soul suffers quite a lot" said Mimi "And I for one am quite delighted to think of that."

"Harry offered him the chance of redemption; which being Harry he had to do" said Sirius "But I – I think I'm glad he didn't take it. I'm not sure anything, any repentance could make me ready to forgive what he did to my dear little cousin!"

"I wasn't very dear the first time" Bella's voice was muffled by tears and white tummy fur.

"No; but you see, little Bella, I've almost forgotten her; I've seen YOU grow up as my dear little cousin" said Sirius "Don't expect me to be rational; only loving and faithful. It's the way dogs are."

"I do love you Padfoot" said Bella. "I like tigers better than dogs, 'cos dogs smell worse in the rain but I do love YOU."

"Especially I suppose those without noses" murmured Sirius remembering Lilith. "But I'd do just about anything for you, Bella."

"We all would" said Mimi softly.

"Bella, if this has put you off any physical relationship at all I will always love you on your terms" said Assim.

Bella pulled her face out of his fur.

"Let that inadequate little twerp WIN?" she said in indignation "You don't NEED spells to turn me into a puddle, Assim! I mean, not right now because – because… well I feel rather sick; but YOU know!"

The big tiger gently licked the tip of her pert little nose.

"And I can love you little Bella; and that's what he was incapable of doing."

"Exactly" said Bella "And SHE thought it was all the same; poor sad little bint. We love each other; and we'd do anything for each other; and being friends is most important. And we'd still love each other if we couldn't do the exciting sort of things and if we couldn't make cubs together. Mind you I – I do want to one day" she added.

"And we shall; one day" said Assim. "And that will take away the sourness of this bad memory. Should Padfoot erase it from your mind anyway?"

"No" said Bella "I need to recognise the technique; Marauders protect. If there'd been Marauders when She – I – was young someone might have noticed and rescued the old me. I bet she was acting strange at school; sort of like a kid before a birthday party that they have to go to have a tooth fixed right before. And WE'd notice, wouldn't we?"

"More likely than not" said Sirius. "I kind of feel I almost let you down being too young to maraud at the right time; you're eight years older than me."

"Nuts" said Bella rudely. "I tell you who DID let me down; Horace bloody Slughorn! That's the sort of thing a housemaster is SUPPOSED to notice!"

Sirius pulled a face.

"I can't really argue with that" he said. "Poor Horace is a bit of an inadequate himself; let Sev down badly too. And what a dipstick! Making up to the likes of relatives of politicians and missing the greatest potioneer that ever lived, because Lily was almost as good but had a nicer figure and Sev wasn't that prepossessing as a kid!"

"At least he wasn't prejudiced about her being muggle born" said Mimi "And he DID finally come over with a true memory; at least, after mum bullied him a bit. I guess we have to accept that nobody's perfect; and not everyone has the balls to fight and the brains to notice."

"Stop being rational; it makes you sound like both your parents on one of their better days" growled Sirius "Bella and I are enjoying a gripe already!"

Bella managed a half giggle.

"Auntie Connie's better than Horace by a long chalk" she said "She's got eyes in the back of her head and she knows when to keep them shut! We're just spoilt, I suppose, Mimi, for having STARTED school with your dad as House Head; and him just the tops! Oh, Assim, can I just snuggle up with you here and go to sleep? That was pretty wearing!"

"Of course you may" Assim growled purrily.

Sirius nodded.

"Mimi and I will leave her to you; unless you want Mimi as a chaperone?"

"I will not be out of line" said Assim firmly.

"I'd like a Mimi-cuddle too" said Bella "Not as a chaperone but as my bestest friend."

Mimi snuggled up on Bella's other side. Assim's big cushions all over the floor were very nice.

And Bella, relaxed with two of the people she loved most, fell asleep.

Within a couple of days a picture of Tom Riddle appeared in the Slytherin common room with scores marked on it and a set of darts. Bella had produced an image for Erica to copy and she was hoping there was enough of Tom Riddle's soul to have a connection to the picture to feel the darts.

The picture certainly twitched feebly and moaned faintly even though it did not seem to have the power of full locomotion and speech.

Sirius heard about it from Mimi; and let Bella have her relief of feelings for a few days before he broke into the Slytherin common room through the portrait of Ebeneezer Malfoy and removed it firmly to disenchant and destroy.

Whilst it was improbable that the parts of Voldemort's soul could be put together enough for him to try to reach the living through his portrait it was a risk Padfoot preferred not to take; and it was too close to torture for him to want Bella getting used to the idea. Own back was one thing. It must not develop into anything more.

Bella took the removal of the picture with philosophy; her own tiger senses smelled mothballs, and she guessed another marauder had come through the cupboard to take it away.

She was feeling better now anyway and ready to plan some other exploit to remind people that the Belle Marauders existed.

Bella was beaten to the next prank by the Striped Marauders.

As the weather improved, friendly knockabout games were scheduled for the weekend instead of dancing; to the relief of those who found dancing a sissy sort of entertainment, especially – though not exclusively – the boys.

The two youngest groups of Marauders took dancing seriously to the surprised delight of the faculty; the reason being that Lydia had told them firmly that any dancing trained the feet and trained feet could chant as well as the mouth.

That they had absently dropped the honky-tonk twinkletoes curse on pompous types like Hubert McLaggan stopped the faculty from worrying that they were planning worse mischief.

They were not; they had already planned it and the moment quidditch was mooted they went into action.

Six giggling weevils went out to the quidditch pitch late at night.

"Should you kids be out here at this time?" asked Edgar Clogg, the ghost who hung around the quidditch pitch.

They giggled.

"Oh no, Mr Clogg; that's why we're here" said Lilith "We're doing a wind up of the whole school by hiding the quidditch pitch; don't worry we'll let them find it quite quickly but we have to break out in mischief because it's been ghastly weather and we're in need of a serious rag."

"Oh" said Edgar Clogg "I say, you won't LOSE me will you?"

"Oh if you stay inside you'll be able to stay with the pitch and keep an eye on it" said Lilith.

Edgar Clogg was not interested in anything but quidditch and he recognised Lilith as a good little keeper and some of her friends as those with potential; and lost interest.

The children danced happily around the quidditch pitch, using the fey skill Lilith had been bullying them into learning to dance up into the air in a spiral about it, to enclose the space in what seemed to them an easier and more natural way than setting up stations arithmantically for major wards.

And then they dropped the Fidelius Charm on the volume.

"It's still there" said Gennar, in disappointment "It didn't work!"

"You baboon!" said Lilith "Of COURSE you can see it; you're in the secret. We ALL can; but as I'm the secret-keeper no-one else can unless we tell them. Or I drop the spell. And let's get the most people catching flies and rubbernecking that we can before we do!"

Madam Hooch was the first person out to inspect the pitch; and she gave a little shriek of horror.

Instead of a smooth bit of turf surrounded by tiers with the goals at each end there was nothing but endless moor!

She rubbed her eyes.

And then the first and most eager youngsters were coming out.

"Lumme!" said Gorbrin "Someone's swiped the quidditch pitch!"

It was an inadequate sort of comment; but in the shock of the moment, Gorbrin felt a trifle inadequate it has to be said! He could, however, feel definite mirth from some of his bloodkin; and stopped SERIOUSLY worrying.

There was uproar, outrage and rumpus; and the noise was so great even Professor Dumbledore came out.

"Bless my soul!" he said in surprise.

"The pitch – it's GONE!" said Rolanda Hooch in something as closely akin to an hysterical wail as that no-nonsense worthy might permit herself.

"It's what I've been trying to tell you, kid, it aint't there, it's been totally blown away" muttered Gorbrin, feeling one Malfoy had to live up to Draco's reputation for quoting Star Wars in and out of context.

There was a wavering in the air, two bits of moorland heaved and were apparently shoved aside as the quidditch pitch reappeared in all its glory with Edgar Clogg perched on one of the goals, shaking his head gloomily.

"Would the, er, clever pupils care to enlighten a poor old Headmaster who feels rather less than clever on the subject, on just how they managed that?" said Dumbledore.

The Striped Marauders beamed at him; even Sextus Scarpin grinning.

"We just dropped the Fidelius Charm on it sir" said Lilith "And it isn't even against the rules, because there's no DAMAGE to school property not did we permanently deprive. Only hid."

"Lilith Snape and cohorts; ah well, I suppose I should not be surprised" said Dumbledore "And I'm not sure whether to put you in detention or congratulate you on your ingenuity."

"It's quite, quite brilliant!" said Bella "I wish WE'd thought of it!"

Praise from an older Marauder was sweet!

"Ye put the Fidelius Charrm on it? Awa' wi' ye, how did ye ken hoo tae dae THAT?" asked McGonagall, much upset.

"Well that's sort of what libraries are for, Madam McGonagall" said Lilith.

McGonagall sighed.

"Och, I suvived ye mither; I'm nae sae sure I'm going tae survive you, ye wee sumpf!" she said.

Lilith grinned at her.

Since half the sixth and the majority of the rest who were not marauders had never even HEARD of the Fidelius Charm there were a few discontented mutterings; but Gorbrin's brisk,

"Right, are we going to play ball or not?" stopped the discontent and the quidditch fans got about their business!

"And WHAT do we do when we run out of OWLS and NEWTS fer the wee horror tae study?" asked Minerva later of Dumbledore. The Head smiled gently.

"Set her to original research, Minerva; and stand by to guide her and help her undertake it. She needs stretching."

"On a rack" said Sirius.

"And I know you don't mean that" said Dumbledore gently.

"No, Albus, I don't; mind you I know what Minerva means. She needs something structured because she's too young really to do research just as research all the time because she IS a child and needs the comfort of a well structured course because of not having the maturity to handle anything much freer. And when we run out of structured courses she may not be old enough yet; if she only takes three OWLS a year we can keep he back with her classmates; but is that fair? I can see her taking half a dozen easily next year and the rest the year after; and then if she does the same with NEWTs she'll have covered all the subjects we have by the time she's fifteen."

"We'll cross THAT bridge when we get to it" said Dumbledore "At least she and her group are PACING their pranks; only one a term of any significance. I don't really count young McLaggan playing the theme music of muggle television programs in honky-tonk while he walks."

"Weel, at least Lilith's a young limb and no' a prig wi' no mind above her library worrrk" said Minerva.

"And if you ask me, the majority of the library work fuels her fertile little brain for mischief" said Sirius. "We'll survive, Minerva; it can't be worse than the Voldemort years; she's more inventive than her grandfather but at least SHE's a sweetie."

"Och, and glad I am we never had Tom Riddle with a brain as fertile as that wee limb!" said Minerva with heartfelt gratitude!


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Lilith, entirely satisfied with her jape, returned to hard work with even more zest and begged volunteers from the OWL classes to test her improved memory potion on.

Gorbrin, who had faith in Lilith's concoctions, laughed and said that so long as Madam Hardboom had passed it as no more dangerous than any other weevil potion he would volunteer.

He swallowed a dose and went suddenly very pale and swayed.

"Crumbs!" said Lilith "Gorbrin, what's up?"

"Your potion works very well" said Gorbrin in a rather breathless voice.

Meliandra put her arms around him.

"What have you poisoned my boyfriend with you horrid weevil?" she demanded. The term 'horrid weevil' was there as a matter of form only; though she WAS concerned about Gorbrin and half inclined to be cross with Lilith if she had been irresponsible.

"The kid doesn't know her own abilities" said Gobrin, fighting to stay calm "She's only come up with a potion that brings out details of an incident in the greatest of clarity like you were seeing it in a Pensieve; except that you relive it. I just watched my dad get murdered again and I know that the model in Madam Malkin's shop behind Samuel Block was wearing a pink gown with purple frills; and every detail of Block's robes; the pattern of the pigeon shit under the eaves of the shops; everything."

Lilith burst into tears and flung her arms around Gorbrin. Meliandra extended her cuddle to the little girl.

"I would NEVER hurt you intentionally, Cousin Gobrin!" howled Lilith.

"'Course you wouldn't our kid" said Gorbrin. "Look, I can make myself think of good things too and pull them into sharp relief; it just first hit the spot of the memory I try not to think of, but which is perhaps the most major thing that shaped my childhood; and I think you've got a great product there to aid the auror's office because Pensieves are horridly expensive. And this could help an honest witness who truly has a poor memory or who has subconsciously blocked a memory; leaving the Pensieve for those who are truculent and won't talk about what they saw. It isn't a great study aid, I'm afraid. What did you do to improve it?"

"I asked for a Jobberknoll to dissect and discovered that it has a small sac attached between the ears and the voicebox that appears to be made up of secondary ganglion clusters; so I hypothesised that the memories of all the sounds it ever heard were stored there to be released on the point of death; so I used a portion of that. I pickled the rest separately in case it worked; it only took a small part. I used the same weight of brain-like matter as we usually use of jobberknoll feathers. It seems to be enough" said Lilith. "It's as well jobberknolls are so easy to breed in captivity if this really could be useful to the auror's office."

"You want to see who'll volunteer to have a particular incident brought to mind first by questions and then see if it works on that; or if it goes straight to a traumatic experience" said Gorbrin.

"I'll try it" said Darryl Zabini "I have a traumatic experience; but if you ask me questions about – oh, say, trying to sabotage Gorbrin's broom in the first year, let's see if it works."

"Sure, old man?" said Gorbrin.

Darryl nodded.

"Mimi took me through the worst trauma with Snape-style legilimensy and efficiency" he said. "I think I can handle it if it comes back to haunt me."

"Worse for you than for me" said Gorbrin "At least my dad was killed by a stranger."

Darryl shrugged.

"Well, at least I have family now" he said. "Gorbrin, ask me about the broom."

Gorbrin asked him how he came to have the idea, and how he planned to do the deed; and Lilith gave him the draught.

"Crumbs, I can actually see the whole page of the book with the hurling hex on it" said Darryl "And the hexes each side of it too; that's one powerful draught, Lilith Snape! DEFINITELY to be banned in exams; reckon if anyone thought about researching any essay….lumme yes, I can switch it to reading about Switching spells!"

"Nice!" said Lilith.

"I – I'm fighting against the memory of my dad dying; I've got a strong will I think to turn thoughts to other memories to enhance, like Gorbrin can; I guess without warning however I'd have gone straight there" said Darryl. "It MUST be used in conjunction with skilful preparation of the witness. Gorbrin, you'll send a sample to your brother Draco?"

"Not such a half bad idea" said Gorbrin "Draco's a skilled legilimens – trained Snape fashion – but even so this would help him. And not all aurors ARE legilimenses; I sort of assumed it's all part of the training but Draco says, no, some of them never get it!"

"I'm going to go for it too" said Darryl suddenly "I think it'd be a worthwhile thing to do. If more people had asked questions about my mum when I was a kid, she might have been stopped. Only…. I don't think I can inform on my own mother."

"That's understood, old man" said Gorbrin touching Darryl on the arm.

The boy did not even wince now at being touched by a goblin.

"I'm still most awfully sorry for dragging up things" said Lilith.

Gorbrin ruffled her hair.

"Fortunately it seems short lived; it's wearing off right now" he said "And I DID volunteer, you know! If it'll help other people remember enough to deal with creeps and put them in prison then it's worth while. It's a good piece of work, our kid."

"Well it's the first serious potion improvement I've managed" said Lilith seriously "The Pepperup Potion had already been well tweaked by you and dad and my enhancement to the boil cure to remove cursed zits needs the potioneer to understand curse breaking too. And I haven't managed anything bar improved flavour with anything else and that hardly counts."

"It would if you could improve the flavour of glumbumble juice" laughed Darryl.

"Yes, but that's supposed to taste vile; it's used far more as a punishment potion for temper tantrums than for true hysterics" said Lilith practically "And a true hysteric won't hardly notice anyway."

"She does have a point" said Meliandra.

"A bad habit of all Snapes" teased Gorbrin.

Lilith giggled and ran off happily to write up her results after extracting from Gorbrin and Darryl their promises to sign them as poof of the effects.

And Gorbrin wrote it up too, to send a sample to Draco!

Lilith was doing her homework in the Ravenclaw Tower common room – to the irritation of a wide selection of Ravenclaws – purely out of affection for Sextus and to help his dorm mate Philamon with his charms homework.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" cried Sampta Patil "How can I concentrate on this horridly difficult concept of adapting transforming spells to cross-species switching with you brats waffling on about locomotor charms?"

"Well, Waffling is rather the key" said Lilith "Adalbert Waffling's books on the theory of magic; and Emeric Switch quotes Waffling's laws of assimilative correlation, both by nomenclature and by association so all you have to do is quote Switch quoting Waffling and explain how the patterns of the transformation spells must warp subtly to take such similarities as you can find into account so that for example you go from cat to owl by concentrating first on the large eyes of the nocturnal hunter that is cat and pass, perhaps, though Persian cat that has big eyes and a flat face and fluffy fur more like feathers."

"Oh what do YOU know? You're only a weevil!" said Patil rudely.

"Maybe because I'm taking Transfiguration OWL this year and you aren't until next year" retorted Lilith.

"Oh yeah! Like I believe a lie like that!" sneered Patil "You're just an interfering brat with ideas of self-aggrandisement because your father once used to teach here, and let me tell you we're all glad he's gone because he was a nasty creature and we all laughed at his scars."

Lilith's eyes started to narrow and Ming hastily blood-pulsed her to be calm.

"I hope you didn't, Patil" said Pearl "Because he got them saving the whole school; and anyone who laughs at a hero is a sick puppy."

"And moreover, Patil" said Ming "Lilith is in fact studying to OWL with those of us who are in the fifth and she's probably going to get an 'O' grade because she's that good. And many of as actually do rather miss Professor Snape because he was well cool; and if he was nasty to you it was probably because you were a naughty little girl. And actually he never taught YOU because you were with Madam Malfoy, Lilith's mum; not that she ever took any shit from ill behaved weevils either."

"Professor Snape is a great man and I'm actually thinking of asking if I can't transfer to Prince Peak for my NEWTs" put in Venilia Cornfoot, in Patil's own year. "Making a sweeping statement of universal hated that is untrue is unworthy and rather childish; and even if it were true would be an unforgivable thing to say to the man's own daughter. You'd do better to listen to her rather sound advice; I'm going to. Lilith, did you use that example?"

"No, I used as my exemplar going from pig to bull using Wilfrid Crabbe as an intermediary because he's a pig that talks a lot of bull" said Lilith.

"McGonagall will crucify you" giggled Venilia.

"Yes; but she'll giggle about it privately in the staff room first; and I'll be a good girl in the exam but I don't see why I shouldn't entertain the staff in the meantime."

"What ARE you like?" demanded Avice Crawford, Venilia's friend.

"Childish; I'm allowed to be at my age" said Lilith calmly.

"It's ridiculous!" snorted Patil.

"Well it would be if I was geriatric like you fourths" said Lilith. "But I'm not."

"It's ridiculous that you're even here! They say you're way too young; and you certainly shouldn't be allowed to take OWLs!" said Patil.

"Huh, you're only afraid I'll do better than you" said Lilith with enough truth to infuriate Patil further; and proceeded to ignore her, breaking down locomotor charms for Philamon with a simplicity that Ming admired, especially in so complex a little being as Lilith with her advanced and superior understanding!

"See?" said Patil "She's just parroting something she heard about transfiguration; how childish is that explanation to the other brat?"

"Childish enough for HIM to understand, you feather head" said Ming "A sign of a good teacher. You are so limited Patil!"

As Patil was rather convinced by the superiority of her own abilities she sulked rather stormily at THAT comment!

She would pay that rotten Snape brat back!

The idea that 'paying back' a first year even of the normal age was remarkably childish never entered Sampta Patil's head.

Lilith set to work on her own essay; and Patil stealthily built up a confusing charm to cast on the child's pen, releasing it slowly through her wand beneath the table.

Lilith wrote a couple of words and looked up; saw Patil smirking triumphantly and shrugged; and suddenly the pen in Patil's hand was Lilith's flamboyant peacock feather pen and Lilith was writing quite happily with Patil's.

"That rotten Slytherin kid has put a curse on my pen!" said Patil.

"Someone use the _priori incantatem _ on HER wand to find out how she cursed my pen; which is why I swapped hers and mine" said Lilith "And a nawful shame that a big girl would stoop to play tricks on a junior tick; as well as interfering with work being well beyond the pale as has been rather well highlighted by what Amos Leroy did; unless you're of the same type as him, Patil."

"Well it's not like doing anything to serious exam work is it?" sneered Patil "All right I did confuse the chit's pen, I don't need you to come all sanctimonious and check my wand, Chang!"

"Actually, the marks on year work essays may be taken into account in OWLs" said Ming "So yes it IS sabotaging exam results. That's an Arithmancy essay Lilith's doing there as I can see; the same as mine, 'Discuss the use of the Wenlock Series with reference to its appearance in nature and the relationship of that to potioneering' which is a massive subject and an awfully complex essay. Snape, I suppose you're actually enjoying it?"

Lilith beamed.

"Yes thank you, Chang. I also mentioned in passing its relevance to building up a chant that might too be used to improve the ingredients of a potion. I was wondering if it were relevant mentioning its use in determining probability."

"Lumme! I rather think that's a NEWT level thing; if I was you, I'd mention it in passing and if Madam Vector thinks it's irrelevant she'll let you know."

"Thanks Chang; I appreciate" said Lilith.

Patil scowled even more; Chang had looked at her in contempt when he pointed out that she was interfering with what was essentially exam work.

That brat was taking OWLs in Arithmancy as well as Transfiguration? Preposterous! It was almost the DUTY of anyone to show her up as inadequate to the staff; there was no way a child of nine years old should be able to take OWLs, and they shouldn't let her!

The best thing would be to slip the brat a confusing and befuddlement potion allied with a babbling draught so she seemed to have cracked under the strain.

Patil went into a brown study planning; yes, that was easy enough, it just required a little surreptitious brewing. The confusing and befuddlement draught was a fifth year potion, but Patil was sure she could manage it!

As the rest of the Ravenclaws present were used to Patil sulking they took no notice of her brown study; and perhaps even if they had done, the girl would have thought of something else as nasty.

Doctoring the pumpkin juice of a Slytherin child, once she had prepared her potions, was not the easiest thing to do; as Sampta Patil realised at lunch next day.

Instead it was best to use a switching spell to change a glass of the drink in front of herself for the one in front of the little girl, whose red hair made her position at the Slytherin table conspicuous.

Lilith took a deep swig of the pumpkin juice; stiffened; and managed to say to Gennar

"I've been poisoned!" before the draught took effect and she started sobbing in confusion and uncertainty and crying that she needed daddy to make it right.

Gennar was no fool; and he could feel the befuddlement in her through their blood link; as could the whole blood group; and the Hall suddenly resounded to a synchronised heart beat as the blood group merged to pass the potion through Lilith's system and neutralise it.

Sampta Patil had no idea what this thudding was; and nobody chose to enlighten her who might have known.

Sirius Black was at the Slytherin table in a bound.

"What happened?"

"I was poisoned; a confusing and befuddlement draught well pepped up with alihotsy and something" said Lilith "And there's enough of my drink left to test…..and I wager it was done with a switching charm so a chance of fingerprints."

Sirius cast Scarpin's Revellaspell on the pumpkin juice.

"Enough to drive a child of your weight to a possible heart attack from hysteria and confusion" he said grimly "Could an elf bring me a paper napkin from a new packet and handle it only at the corner?"

A napkin shortly arrived; Sirius summoned gloves and used it to wipe the outside of the glass, sighed, and clumsily folded a flapping bird.

"Should have got Lydia to have done that, Padfoot" said Lilith.

"If I don't practise I won't learn; and she won't always be around when I need her" said Sirius "And don't call me Padfoot in school."

"No sir; sorry sir" said Lilith.

The rather bedraggled looking paper bird flapped over to Ravenclaw table and flopped pathetically into Sampta Patil's ice cream.

"Oh dear; not my house AGAIN!" squeaked Flitwick "I'll see you in my study after lunch, Miss Patil."

"I don't understand!" said Patil loudly.

"Miss Patil; Professor Black has used an ordinary finding charm based on the sweat and skin transfer from you to the glass that has been switched for that of Miss Snape; to discover who has been so unwise as to risk a little girl's life and sanity. If you really want it spelled out in front of your confreres" said Professor Flitwick. "Really, Sirius, the Marauders are extremely powerful in what they can muster to rescue the poor child from the throes of so irresponsible a poisoning."

"A bezoar would have worked too sir!" said Sextus Scarpin, determined that one at least of Ravenclaw house should have credit for more positive knowledge.

"Indeed it would, Mr Scarpin" said Flitwick. "A bezoar is efficacious against all forms of poison including those that are not normally considered poisons save in an overdose like this."

Patil looked ghastly.

She had not intended to POISON Snape, only make her look stupid!

As it happened, Professor Flitwick took almost as dim a view of the girl's intentions as of her possibly fatal over enthusiasms; and was extremely scathing about girls of nearly fifteen trying to play stupid tricks on little girls in the first year, let alone little girls of only nine years old. Patil protested that it was wrong that a child so young should be allowed to take OWLs; and when being asked why, floundered in a confusion of Lilith being too immature and needing to be shown up as such by babbling hysterically because obviously she would only have hysterics and fall into an immature fit of tears in a real exam. And as Flitwick pointed out that if the child were incapable and showed a tendency to hysterics in the exam then the experiment to let her work to her own ability would be shown to be a failure; that was the responsibility of the staff, not of sundry naughty little girls in the middle school. He also added that Lilith showed more calmness than Miss Patil herself when under academic pressure and suggested that perhaps Miss Patil would benefit from being moved back into the first year, where her mental state appeared to belong, and to repeat three years; since such a childish irresponsibility leading to risking a smaller child's life could also be an expulsion offence.

Patil sobbed loudly; she could not bear the thought of the shame of being expelled; but the idea of an equal shame of being moved down three years was equally unbearable!

Flitwick let the enormity of her iniquities sink in before he said,

"You are jealous, Miss Patil; that is all. And the moment you accept that you find it hard to cope with a child so young being cleverer and more talented than you, then you will begin to tread the path to wisdom. Lilith is an exceptional child; of exceptional parents. She has experienced her mother using her own mind to wrap her in a shield spell in the womb while the said mother must perforce writhe under the cruciatus curse for the amusement of Voldemort; her mother being Voldemort's daughter who helped bring him down by being one of those within his confidences. Also in the womb she has experienced her mother's needs to use animagus form to help defeat Voldemort; a reason she was born an animagus. She was born under the dramatic circumstances of Chinese dragon heart blood fumes bringing on early labour; which her mother sustained for saving Professor Snape who saved the whole castle putting out the flames with his bare hands and taking terrible injuries as a result. She spent her earliest years watching and assimilating – as small children do – the dedication and higher magics developed by Harry Potter and his closest allies, of whom her parents were two. Of course if you had been born knowing something of what the cruciatus curse is like, seeing as an infant what it can do to your parents and knowing in the instinctive way infants do what pressure and terror the forerunners of that most vital fight were under, you too might have been moulded into something exceptional; but do you really want Miss Snape's nightmares to go with that talent? Somehow I don't think you could handle it. The child is special; and every one of us who know her parents will do all we can to nurture her and give her as fun a time at school as is possible to make up for the early years and her hard- gained talent. Without cosseting her she will have as good a time as she can; and yet gain all the education she needs. And she needs to be stretched; gently. Which is why she is taking three OWLs this year not the nine or ten she is undoubtedly already capable of. You are a shallow and foolish child who is no true Ravenclaw; for you do not love learning for its own sake as those like Lilith do; as the Changs do; you love learning as a means of being one up on your fellows, and, I suspect, your sister. And I believe that unless you amend your attitude, Sita will go far further than you because she has a positive outlook on life and loves to study and to have fun and does not use her studying as a weapon against others! You will write an apology to Miss Snape – a fulsome apology – and you will go to bed at the same time as the first years for the rest of the term and if that drops your grades for shorter study time, then you should have thought of that before you decided to be so infantile!"

Patil stammered her way through thanks that she was not to be expelled or dropped down!

She had no idea how to begin writing an apology; and had not yet realised how hard she was to find this. But she stumbled out of Flitwick's office a slightly wiser girl and certainly one who had received a bad fright!

Lilith had meanwhile mentioned loudly that anyone with any degree of competence ought to have been able to have managed to have switched only the contents of the glasses rather than switching the whole glass thereby defying discovery.

As the OWL exam practical involved just this, and was almost a guaranteed 'O' grade if the contents could be switched not merely the bottles she received admonitory pokes from several fifth years.

Lilith giggled and told them they ought to practise harder.

Sampta Patil also received a good poking from her twin sister when she moaned to her about how difficult it was to write an apology and how demeaning it was.

"And I'd have found it even more demeaning to have had a sister in Azhkaban for the murder of a babe!" said Sita furiously "Honestly, Sampta, didn't you learn anything about being hasty and judgemental from wearing zits saying 'pratt' for three days? Hasty and judgemental is supposed to be the fault of us Gyffs, though at least we usually mean well; hasty and judgemental allied with spite and self-congratulation is NOT attractive and right now I'm ashamed that you're my sister! Lilith Snape is the cutest kid and I wish she was a Gryff; even though she's cleverer than most Ravenclaws! She's unaffected and she doesn't play false modesty but she doesn't boast; I bet if YOU'D been good enough to take OWLs in the first year you'd have bored anyone who'd listen about how good you were! If I were you, I'd say you were sorry you were jealous of her and acted childishly because of it and you never meant her any serious harm; and if she tells you how to balance a dose according to body weight, which I bet she knows, you jolly well listen like you're interested even if you're not because even I'm not so poor at potions as to give an adult dose of anything to a kid who's almost the size of a goblin her age because she takes after her mum, who as you might recall isn't as big as either of us at OUR age! I hope that's practical advice but don't expect me to be sympathetic!"

Sampta sulked off but she took her sister's advice on the best way to write the apology.

Lilith received it and read it through.

"Accepted" she said coolly. "Which I'd have done with more grace if it hadn't read like an impot apology and if it sounded like you meant it. But I will put the incident behind me."

Sampta flushed.

When a little girl like that looked down an imperious little nose like that slapping her face just to put her in her place was so tempting!

She resisted the temptation and escaped gladly.

In light of further unpleasantness from Ravenclaw the whole school was glad to laugh at the jape the Belle Marauders pulled to attempt to rival the disappearing quidditch pitch especially as it had nothing to do with tigers.

Bella felt it behoved them to both follow up the weevils AND to amuse the school and she and he friends proceeded to animate every desk in every classroom to begin singing 'There's a Zombie in my attic' the moment someone over the age of twenty came into the room; in other words whenever a teacher entered.

For a while pandemonium raged with the inexorable singing of,

"There's a zombie in my attic and he's starting to smell

There's a zombie in my attic and he's turning green as well

Whenever I come in the door

Bits of flesh fall on the floor

Body fluids freely pour

From the zombie in my attic!"

The only teacher who enjoyed it was Leticia Jones who had never heard the song and let the desks sing all six verses before asking her third year elective class to find someone to halt the repetitions.

Her class voted her a sport.

The rest of the staff, who knew the song only too well as a favourite of their pupils, rapidly stopped the enchantment and the clattering accompaniment of the desk lids.

It cleared the air nicely and even the staff laughed and decided not to make too stern an effort to find out the perpetrators.

The song briefly regained the highest vogue of what was sung at school, accompanied by those with more skill on their fart organs.

The jokes were of course relayed to Seth in Myrtle's loo; and what was all right about jokes that didn't hurt anyone and what was wrong about Sampta Patil's jealous little desire to hurt a girl who outshone her.

Seth had to have quidditch explained – which was easier once Lilith came up with the idea of moving illusions to show him, something else too sophisticated for someone her age – and marvelled that such things were possible. The singing desks moved him to laughter, and the striped marauders sang him all six verses with gusto in all its unsavoury detail.

Candace and Phyllis were settling in nicely and the combined Marauders felt easier about asking them for blood samples for making them officially dead, a concept that Candace understood even if Phyllis just went along with it because Candace said it was a good idea. Phyllis was just glad to be able to see her brother even though she was upset that she could not hug him.

"It's going to get our parents into trouble, isn't it?" said Candace.

"Don't you think they deserve it?" said Lilith.

Candace considered.

"I – I guess" she said. "I don't know what I feel about them."

"I'm angry now" said Seth "I can't see anything evil about the kids here; even that Patil character's just a weak ninny. I think…. I think they murdered me and I think if they can't be done for that, then they should be done for murdering the girls. How are you doing that though WITHOUT murdering the girls?"

"By using magic to make dead pigs SEEM like the girls" said Lilith. "Pigs are easy because there's enough similarities for muggles to grow organs for transplant in them and they come in similar skin tones to humans. We got Hereford Blacks and we can't use Kantian Philosophy mangled to 'I'm pink therefore I am' but it's kinda close enough with a bit of assimilative correlation by jiggery pokery….just trust us to do it, okay?" as Seth's eyes started glazing over.

Lydia clipped Lilith across the back of the head with two fingers.

"You are a pest" she said amicably. Lilith beamed.

"At least he's not ginger like a Weaseley or we'd have to use Tamworths and they're a rare breed and kinda harder to get hold of" she said.

"Where did you learn all this about pigs?" asked Sextus.

"Oh one of our muggle neighbours takes 'Pig Breeders Weekly" said Lilith "It's quite interesting; sometimes I fish it out of his bin to read when I've run out of the periodicals we have. I like pigs actually; they're nice clean animals and shouldn't really be insulted by being compared to Crabbe."

"Some muggles keep them as pets" said Sextus "Viennese Pot Bellied pigs."

"Vietnamese" corrected Lilith.

"Near enough" said Sextus.

"Well only a few thousand miles out; Viennese things are covered in lots of icing sugar and have apples and waltz music."

"Well there's applesauce…. I'm hungry now."

"We'll go scrounge something from the elves when we're done here" said Lilith.

The transfiguration was a nice piece of work and the marauders decided to leave one of their number out of the chanting as the sum total of still juvenile marauders was two dozen; and they were scrupulously balancing up the use of twenty three. Jayashree volunteered to drop out as she found chanting came less easily to her; and was put in charge of making cocoa, as the most vital task of all.

The dead piglets shaped before the startled gaze of Seth and Candace – Phyllis was left with Gran in the orphanage – into simulacra of dead children.

"Now the distasteful bit" said Lydia "And that's just for us oldest layer; the rest of you scram, you too Seth. We'll work in the Basilisk's lair."

Lilith was not unhappy to scram; Lydia had wandered over to Archie Trumball's police house to reseach ritual killings on the internet so it looked authentic; and Lilith already knew more than she wanted to.

Even knowing that the piglets were not alive and were not people did not make it less of a rather distasteful task; and then they had to chant over the wounds to make them contain histamine to make them at least perimortem.

The university grounds of Loughborough University was chosen as all and sundry might walk down there; in a small wood not far from the big beam engine on display at a back gate.

They took mud and leaf mould from the wood and carefully inserted it into the treads of the Carter's car tyres; and, having multiplied the blood taken from Candace, trickled some into the bath plug hole.

"That ought to do it" said Lydia. "Sooner or later a canoodling couple are going to fall over the shallow scrape and have a bit of a coitus interruptus ohgorblimius. And THEN the first thing that hits the minds of the fuzz is, have we got a child spoiler in the Uni, but hang about let's investigate the parents too because didn't their oldest son commit suicide. And then bingo!"

They felt no compunction about blaming the parents for a fictitious horrific double murder; as none of them could think of anything a lot worse for a parent to do than to force a child to take his own life.

They were quite glad to get the gruesome part over; but otherwise it was a job well jobbed.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Lydia was quite glad to be in the lower sixth and so able to go home to Bayswater and follow the news story in the muggle press. It ranked a mention in the national news and Lydia picked up more details on Uncle Casimir's internet connection. She only had time for a quick glance at the news because they were all off to Germany to blood in various new people as Jade had decided to set up a Durmstrang branch; after having to blood bond to a child to save her life.

Viktor Krumm came too which was nice; and Lydia wrapped herself around him firmly.

They seemed decent enough people – not that Jade would pick any who were not – and nicer than one would have expected of Durmstrangers. And rather in awe of being in the company of the likes of dad and Harry Potter, because dad had decreed as it was a whole new branch everyone who could come of the original group should. They met in a dungeon and it got very cramped; but that was all right. They were brothers and sisters. And then the English contingent were away to leave the Durmstrangers to their last day of the term; and Lydia went back to her news story.

The Carters were petty soon under arrest and remanded in custody without bail.

And Candace and Phyllis were officially dead to the muggle world.

Lydia thought it sweet irony to have the parents of Seth indicted on a charge of murder under motive of black magic ritual.

The big black dog hanging around Orme Court was more of a possible problem.

Ross had passed on that a big dire-like dog had pursued the train; and Lydia frowned.

It was no dire, that she was certain of. She went to David Fraser about it; and David sallied forth in dog form while Lydia and Ellie stood by. The dog growled at David.

"_Homomorphous!_" Ellie shouted, wand focused on the interloper creature. It was irritating, thought Lydia, that she was not yet seventeen!

The dog twisted, yowling; and then it was a man; for the spell worked as well on an animagus as on a werewolf.

David changed too.

"All right you; what's all this about, following the train and all?" he demanded.

"I want my son" said the man sulkily.

"Your son, eh?" said David, silkily "Now would that be a son sired on a bitch in Obscura Alley, who knew NOTHING of any absent father and who changed painfully and scarily into human form as he reached puberty? Ah, I read in your eyes your guilt. To father a child on an animal is low enough; not to nurture that child is disgusting!"

"I never knew no kid could be born of it" said the animagus sulkily "How was I to know? Then I heered these kids talkin' 'bout it. So I done looked about that new free school and then I heered the kid wuz at Hogwarts wiv lah-di-dah kids. And I want my son."

"Well you may" said David severely "But as you've not actually been much of a father to him I suspect it may be more a case of does HE want you?"

"Well why shouldn't he? Wot's he got in common wiv them stuck up Hogwarts types? You let me see my son, or I'll go to the ministry!"

"Oh, I bet" said Ellie scornfully "An unregistered animagus is REALLY going to go and tell the ministry that he's been poking animals and he wants his puppy back!"

"Shut up you stinking gobbo bitch!" said the animagus.

Mungo had emerged quietly.

He turned to David.

"Dad, this animal may have sired me, but if he's going to use language like that to mum, I vote we run him out of the city with a few good bites to see him on his way" he said "What have I in common with a low vulgar creature like that that can't keep a civil tongue in his head nor his tackle in his fur?"

"Gawd! Yew ain't tellin' me that snotty mouthed brat is mine?" said the man.

Mungo turned into his dog form, snarling.

"Any creep can impart his heritance in a moment of lust" said David, coldly "It takes a man to be a father. You aren't one; and I rather fancy Mungo has made his feelings on the matter quite clear. It is the right of any child if they feel menaced by their blood parents to ask to be placed in the care of their school; and a suitable guardian found. As I have cared for Mungo since he emerged I fancy that the formal adoption proceedings I undertook for him will stand – even if you DID go to the ministry."

"Who the hell do you fink you are?"

"I am Professor David Fraser; and, old boy" said David, borrowing the phrase from Draco "I had no trouble killing a number of Voldemort's werewolves. Running off a scabrous and mangy cur like you will present me with no headaches."

He let the zig-zag scar blaze.

The man snarled; and backed off. If he had been in dog form his tail would have been between his legs; and every part of his body language spoke of how David's threat display had been superior to his.

Mungo barked at him and darted towards him snarling, in little dashes until the man turned tail and fled.

"Singularly unpleasant" said David. Mungo returned to himself and cast himself on David.

"You're more my dad than that creep would ever know HOW!" he said.

"You're our son, Mungo" said David.

"And he can't take you" said Ellie. "Not with half of Orme Court witnessing his inadequacies!"

"And a bloody good job it's in the part no muggles are too" said Lydia "With all that gratuitous changing!"

The holidays were almost over when Jade sent an emergency call that Gerhardt had moved sooner than Von Frettchen had anticipated; and that necessitated a trip too Germany to defend the German Ministry from Odessa take over. It was Jade's show really; but as Prince Peak were supporting them, it had to be done.

Lilith kicked up a fuss over not being allowed to go; but it was quite plainly a matter of form; even Lilith did not expect to be taken on an offensive mission. It was over quickly enough; with Kalashnikovs the fighting was quickly over and then there were werewolves to issue forcible cures to, and to help through the crisis. And they went to Austria to a small country house that had already been prepared for them, under the care of the Nachtigall family whom most of them already knew. Still, it could have been worse; Gerhardt might have moved during the exams; and been even more inconvenient.

Of Lydia's set two would be taking NEWTs after the Holidays; Mei Chang and Mortimer Bane. Mortimer planned to take a year improving his potion making with Peter Prince-Thomson in the apothecary shop in Obscura Alley; Mei was to give a year teaching Comparative Magic at the free school preparatory to the Mad Marauders setting up another free school somewhere like Birmingham.

Dimsie Burke, invited to join them, blushed and said she was hoping to get married and coach cricket in Austria, and perhaps relieve Professor Snape of junior potions classes so he could concentrate on the seniors and on senior chanting.

Mei thumped her on the back and congratulated her.

"Mei, you're taking seven NEWTs; how can you waste such a high grade education on teaching?" said Freya Tuthill.

"Waste? You call imparting knowledge to young minds a waste?" said Mei "Or do you feel that we should only be taught by second rate minds? Do you feel Professor Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards that has ever lived, is WASTING his time – for our sake? Because I don't. A teacher has the chance to make or break a child; to bring a mediocre one on to shine in their own way, to show a better way to those given poor values at home, to shape the future aurors and leaders, inventors, healers, de-splinchers, the teachers, the potioneers, the ministry men who unblock drains; whatever the kids at Hogwarts do they go forward having been given the best opportunity to make the best of their lives. And the responsibility to help them do that is down to the teachers."

"Without the sensitivity and kindness of Professors Dumbledore and Snape I might have become a criminal like my father" said Dimsie "I appreciate them and I think that teaching is a brilliant career. I guess those that just aren't any good at it ought not to try though; those that get impatient with other people for not catching on to things quickly, and those who make judgement values about how other people ought to feel and what a worthwhile ambition is. Silvester Crouch-Jones in the fifth is hoping to be good enough at crafting and enchantment to work at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes; to YOU Tuthill that may not be much of an ambition, but to a kid that is filled with dismay at the idea of a desk job, it's ideal! Go be something big in the ministry by all means; if that's what jerks your strings. But don't be disappointed to find that everyone can remember Dumbledore's name and you get called 'Wasserface in charge of the Unspeakables'.

Freya blinked.

"You feel pretty strongly, both of you" she said.

"So do I" said Mortimer. "I contemplated being an auror; but I got taken out of the gutter by those who gave their time to teach, because any one of the New Marauders could have been an auror and Professor Longbottom is a trained Auror. And I can't think of a much better way to give back what I've been given than by passing it on."

"I see" said Freya. "I suppose I want to be at the forefront of showing people that muggleborn can get on too."

"Heh, and hasn't Madam Granger-Weasley given up a high powered job in the ministry to teach?" said Mei. "Look Freya, teaching ISN'T for everyone; and I don't think you'd enjoy it. I wouldn't enjoy being an Unspeakable or whatever you do plan to be. I like my research untrammelled by a ton of paperwork. But if that's what you hope to do, go for it and enjoy it. Don't disparage my choice."

"I apologise" said Freya. "Yes I DO hope to be an Unspeakable; and from what I've heard the department needs a bit of a clean up. I plan to clean it."

The two marauders and Dimsie looked at each other and laughed.

"That's our Freya!" said Mortimer.

The OWL students were also spending the holiday in school to revise; and in the case of Albert MacMillan to be out of the way of his parents. Albert had told his parents at Yule that he intended taking to NEWT any subjects he got an 'E' in and was told not to be so ridiculously optimistic, he should think about seeing if he felt able to take one or two subjects if he managed to get a pass.

Albert's talk with his uncle Herbert had bucked him up no end however after that set-down; and Albert's friends had assured Herbert MacMillan that Albert was an 'E' grade student in a number of subjects.

Herbert MacMillan offered the boy a home over the summer holidays if he thought his sisters might be er, difficult about any subjects Albert did well in; and Albert agreed gratefully!

Albert greatly respected his cousin Ernie, who knew the great Harry Potter; and knew that Ernie too was a bigger man than to gripe about Albert managing to better himself with the help of his clever friends. Unlike his sisters Camilla and Albertine.

His little brother Sebastian would not enter Hogwarts until Albert was in his final year; and was actually closer in age to Cousin Ernie's oldest son than to his brother. And Albert felt no problem in being able to squash a weevil however uppity the boy might have been made by comments from their parents!

Albert also went out of his way to help the younger ones in his house, where he could; knowing how difficult it could be to learn if you did not understand what had been said in class, and that a different way of putting something really could make a difference to how easy one might find something; and he was something of a hero to several small Hufflepuffs who sobbed over their Arithmancy until the big boy in the Fifth made it all fall into place!

Admittedly the weevils this year did get help from Lilith's set; but those doing homework in the House common room were glad of a kind word and a hint in the right direction.

The news broke in the papers and on the Wizarding Wireless just before the school went back that Odessa had attacked the German Ministry of Magic and that it was rumoured that its leader, Prince Gerhardt, was dead!

There was an interview with a German aristocrat, a Duke Eduard Von Frettchen.

"The ministry has been defended by aid of the older pupils of Durmstrang and the support of its staff" he said "Odessa is no longer a threat in Germany. There will be sweeping changes. Commissions will look into poverty, not only of the oppressed goblins but also of oppressed humans, whatever their blood status. Odessa has caused many ills in our society both by the way it has controlled people within the German Ministry and by causing kneejerk reactions of ill-considered harshness as a counter to it; even as the English ministry reacted so badly to Voldemort. You English have been through it; we are sure we can count on your sympathy and support."

Lydia who had been there laughed when she read it and tossed the paper to Lilith over breakfast.

"He is a smarmy little git" said Lilith through a mouthful of toast and jam.

"It's called being a consummate politician" said Lydia.

"Doxy droppings!" said Lilith "LUCIUS is a consummate politician" she frowned "And with all those wives a frequently consummating one too" she added "And HE'S not a smarmy git!"

"I expect it's because he's German" said Lydia "They have to be a bit more obvious; Germans don't do subtle. And don't talk about Uncle Lucius' wives like that!"

Lilith grinned at her crummily.

Venus turned up for the train with greenish spots, to Ross's consternation.

"It ISN'T Dragonpox" said Venus "It's Ashwinder pox, related I know but a lot less serious. And I wasn't about to miss any school, I can tell you! Lilith will fix it I expect."

"Yeah, Lilith would probably fix it even if it was Dragonpox" said Ross cheerfully. "It's kinda like the relation between muggle diseases Smallpox and Chickenpox I guess."

"I dunno, Tuthill; I don't know much about muggles" said Venus. "Some git passed it onto one of the girls; went all round the house, and Madam Eglantyne thought it was all over by the time I came home for the hols, but apparently not."

"Hard lines kid" said Ross "Scoot on in; Lilith's back there somewhere, follow the sounds of what appears to be a cross between Ragnarok and a riot because the Broomstick Boys couldn't play and you'll have found her."

Venus made a face at him.

He knew full well she was usually as much a part of any rumpus around Lilith as anyone!

Lilith had a big bag of Weasley's Wizard Sweeties.

"They're farting sweeties" she said "As soon as they've gone down they build up gas so you can do fantastic ones; I thought we might play some of Handel's firework music on the fart organs and use the fluorescent fart jinx and time our eructations accordingly."

"Do they smell bad?" giggled Venus, forgetting her spots.

"No, they make scentless ones unless you buy the purple sweeties which are the putrid farting sweeties" said Lilith "They're to take advantage of the jinx really, and the dirigible fart jinx too so all good clean fun! I say what have you gone and caught?"

"Ashwinder pox" said Venus.

"Oh dear! Here, stuff a handful of sweeties and I'll sing and dance it out of your system via your farts; someone whack the jinx on her we should get some really decorative ones!"

Venus cheerfully complied and the first years amused themselves in scatological contemplation and music played as George Frederick Handel had never intended.

The man from the Ministry of education who wanted to board the train was outside of Ross's normal experience.

"I'm not sure if that's in order sir" he said "Professor Dumbledore did not warn me to expect you."

Gorbrin had joined Ross in anticipation of being train prefect for the next two years.

"And we are supposed to refuse to let anyone on without the Head's express instructions or an order signed by the auror's office" he added.

The minister looked at the goblin boy with dislike and turned back to Ross.

"NATURALLY Dumbledore is not expecting me; I am inspecting an alleged irregularity" he said haughtily.

"Professor" said Ross quietly.

"What?"

"PROFESSOR Dumbledore. He has a title" said Ross.

"Well, all right then, Professor Dumbledore!" he made it almost a sneer "And I am coming on this train."

"No sir, you are not" said Gorbrin "Because we have no authorisation to let you. Anyone can SAY they're from the ministry; we are train prefects with a duty of care to the rest of the pupils. No aurors' authorisation or invitation; no train journey. You will have to use the Knight bus or ministry transport."

"And who the hell do you think you are, you snotty little goblin?"

"I, sir, am a prefect designated as fit for duty as train prefect; and as the ministry is unlikely, surely, to employ someone who swears and uses racist comments in front of children, I think it's time to contact aurors to have YOU arrested as a fraud and possibly a paedophile; I have contacted my brother" said Gorbrin quietly.

"Oh wow! And what's your brother going to do?"

"Take you in for questioning you nasty creature" said Draco Malfoy's voice behind him.

The man swung round, eyes bulging.

"But – ohmigawd, the snotty little gobbo is one of Lucius' protégés?"

"Hmm, more insulting racial language; apart from arresting you for trying to board the Hogwarts Express under false pretences, my family quaestor will be entering a civil suit of insulting a minor with intent to cause civil unrest" said Draco cheerfully, grabbing him by the arm and apparating away sharply.

"I wonder if he really was a ministry man?" said Ross. "Nicely Malfoyed there, by the way."

"Thanks" said Gorbrin "I'm horribly afraid he might be; but then, at least we got him subdued a bit before he comes howling in for our scalps and anyone else's; and we can ask Polly to nip ahead with elf apparation and warn the head. Sorry I didn't manage to pump him more."

"Can't do both; depressing his pretensions was the priority. Racist little twerp! I say, you'll likely get some crap from some stuck up weevils next year, did you want to stand down?"

Gorbrin chuckled.

"Not me! I'll pity them that they are going to school too illiterate to even read the word 'prefect'" he said. Ross gave a shout of laughter.

"I wish I might see it; I might even just come and hang about so I do see it!" he chuckled.

The man from the ministry finally got to Hogwarts two days into the new term; and informed Professor Dumbledore that he was there to check up on and question a Professor Jones who was accused of confunding students to make them give unreasonable levels of respect to muggles.

"Oh?" said Dumbledore "An interesting accusation. I wonder who came up with such nonsense."

"Nonsense, you say? Everyone knows YOU favour muggleborn over purebloods!"

"Generally, I favour hardworking students over lazy ones; though I try not to let it show too much. I don't think you'll find it has anything to do with blood status however; though of course , those who think that they can absorb information as a right through birth without doing a stroke of work ARE a little trying. Fortunately we don't have any of those at the moment. I'm just wondering how anyone could have come up with the concept of Madam Jones managing to confund her pupils."

"Well, young people are very vulnerable; as easy to confund them as to confund muggles I should think."

"Dear me yes; I suppose any witch would be able to do so." Dumbledore seemed concerned.

"EXACTLY!" snarled the ministry man.

"Well, you see, you have a problem there" said Dumbledore, faintly apologetically.

"Indeed? What?" Sneered the ministry man.

"Well it so happens that Madam Jones is NOT a witch; she's a muggle" said Dumbledore.

"Oh don't lie! I have seen Madam Araminta Jones' record; a luminary of Ravenclaw!" said the ministry man.

"ARAMINTA Jones, yes indeed" said Dumbledore "But Araminta Jones died several years ago in Germany fighting Odessa; her twin sister did NOT, alas, have her sister's magical talent; and though she has worked hard to attain NEWTs in non-magical subjects – Arithmancy, history, runes, muggle studies the purely academic subjects – she has not a shred of magical ability, for I tested her out in the hopes she might be that rare person, a late developer. So I don't really see how she CAN have confunded anyone, do you?"

"I don't believe you!"

"Excuse me? Do you call my integrity into account? That's a duelling offence, you know" said Dumbledore quietly.

The ministry man paled.

The tale of the Odessa man HAD filtered out.

"I – what I meant was, it is possible you may have been deceived" he said quickly.

"Ah, I may take the choice of having you believe me a blackguard or a fool may I?" said Dumbledore genially enough, but his bright blue eyes flashed with all the warmth of ancient ice. "Well I shall ask Madam Jones to come up; and if you are competent to use Scarpin's Revellaspell to check blood status you may do so."

Leticia duly came up to the Head's office, dropped a brief curtsey to him and to the portraits and looked expectant.

"Ah, my dear" said Dumbledore "This….gentleman….believes you have confunded pupils."

"And how does he think I managed that one?" said Leticia seeing amused derision in Dumbledore's eyes and taking her tone from him.

"I hardly know; apparently either I'm lying about you or a senile old fool who can be fooled by a young witch who wants, for some reason to pretend to be a muggle."

"I'd give up half my life expectancy to be able to cast magic" said Leticia "Don't you have a spell that kind of duplicates the effect of our DNA tests?"

"Yes; the Scarpin's Revellaspell has been recently able to be interpreted in a way to bring it in line with muggle technology" said Dumbledore maliciously. "Try not to take offence, when he discovers the truth, if he becomes offensive; I understand he's already facing a civil suit from Lucius for comments about one of his children."

Leticia winced.

"Can't you have an auror in to make a deposition?" she said "Anyone daft enough to piss off Lucius has to be in the final stages of Felix abuse or a terminal dweeb."

"Oh my dear, hardly worth bothering since Draco and Harry both know you" said Dumbledore gently "If he pushes his luck I'll bring in those to show where he's talking from; if he won't believe the results of his own wand. You CAN cast the Revallaspell, can't you, Strephon?"

The ministry man liked his first name being used just as much as had Tom Riddle; he bared his teeth and got out his wand, carefully pronouncing the incantation.

He stared at the lines of colour his wand showed.

"But – but she IS a muggle! I don't understand!"

"I do" said Dumbledore "Someone wanted to stir up trouble; either someone in your office or a disturbed and foolish child. Which is why the ministry should think twice about making sweeping statements and accusations on the unfounded word of a child writing spiteful letters; because teenage children may often be disturbed. Growing bodies, sweeping changes within them, balancing childhood with growing up, all that sort of thing. Writing letters – often anonymously – to pay back a perceived slight, without stopping to consider that their actions are criminal is a common phenomenon amongst children of this age-group. As anyone who has had anything to do with children should know. Really, it's quite wrong that people should be allowed to be ministers in the department of education without experience in teaching; I shall be making a petition to the grand council that nobody who has not taught for a year should be permitted to have anything to do with education and that the deficiency can be caught up as an interim measure by permitting the current ministers to teach for two years part time in the free school to give them some insights."

He smiled genially.

"Oh, now THAT's a clever idea!" said Leticia "As the free school is in London and easily reachable from the ministry! Or Rowan House I suppose."

"No, no, my dear, it's not fair to expect wizards with no real education in muggle matters to teach those of no or low talent since they mostly study muggle subjects that are beyond the comprehension of most wizards" said Dumbledore "There aren't many of us who have managed to grasp the concept of scientific studies."

"No I suppose not" said Leticia "In the same way that very few of us muggle siblings manage much in the way of education in wizarding subjects; I of course have only attained four NEWTs, those where I could use academic ability not magical, and although Arithmancy is prestigious enough, few wizards would take my muggle NEWT equivalents into account and think me a real muppet for having so few qualifications; and only at 'E's too."

The ministry man scowled.

"Ah Leticia, I fear your views are coloured by Araminta's excellent six NEWTs" said Dumbledore "Strephon here achieved two NEWTs at 'A' grade; a typical level of qualification for those in the ministry."

"Oh I'm sorry; I did not mean to disrespect you; of course everyone respects the hard work Hufflepuffs put in" said Leticia.

Strephon Vaisey spluttered, having been a Slytherin.

Dumbledore beamed cheerfully.

"Hah!" said Phineas Nigellus "If he'd been a Huffer that would have been fair comment Madam Jones; fellow was a lazy, useless fellow in Slytherin House at school and sounds like he hasn't learned to use the few brains he was endowed with for anything much in the meantime! If Vaisey had been much more indolent he'd have needed a charm to keep his lungs working!"

Phineas Nigellus would have despised Leticia had she pointed out – truthfully – that she had qualifications to the level of NEWT and higher from the muggle world; taking wizarding qualifications gave him respect for her.

Vaisey went several different colours.

"Well well, my dear Strephon" said Dumbledore "I'm glad we cleared up that little misunderstanding; last time we had a serious outbreak of interferitis, the ministry sent a Howler to the boy involved; something to bear in mind. Now I shan't take up any more of your valuable time; you'll be wanting to hire a quaestor to formulate your defence to Lucius' law suit of course. Good day to you!"

Several people read the editorial in the 'Wizarding Times' next day with some amusement.

Lucius had written,

"I know I'm not universally popular. No, honestly, I'm not. I've trodden on a few toes, and some of them obviously have corns on; and as a governor of Hogwarts School and an accredited examiner I do like to take an interest in the education system. Which is why I was shocked to discover that the ministry actually employs people who will swear at children and make a verbal racist attack on a child doing his duty and obeying the strictures of his headmaster in refusing to let any Tom, Dick or Harry onto the Express without authorisation. And quite right too; we don't want our children put at risk just because someone says he's a ministry official. Anyone could say that! And of course I do wonder if the verbal abuse was made to get at me through trying to upset my son in his OWL year with his exams coming up so shortly; which could be construed of course as interfering with exam results! That this person, whose manner was so rude and who actually used bad language as was witnessed by an upper sixth student as well – upsetting for a youth about to take NEWTs, a highly sensitive youth, as I understand, taking six NEWTs and tipped to get 'O's in around half of them, such as cannot be conducive to his good studying – should be actually claimed by the ministry is quite unbelievable! The boys, as train prefects, had properly refused the man the right to travel on the train; and the ministry should be well aware of the strict policy Professor Dumbledore has in place, for the protection of the children.

And why did he want to go to Hogwarts School?

To accuse the muggle teacher of muggle studies of performing unauthorised magic on her pupils; a teacher I had recommended to Professor Dumbledore as it being more sense to learn about muggles from a muggle.

I thought we had got rid of most of the imbeciles after the clean up of the Voldemort years; and I shall certainly be recommending to the Grand Council that an idea mooted that all ministers of education should have had experience of teaching should be implemented. One does not, after all, set a herbologist to making fireworks or a metalcrafter to breeding thestrals. We leave to muggles the strange concept that someone trained to run a biscuit factory has the experience too to run a home for the aged and infirm."

There was laughter.

"Ross, where did Lucius get the idea that you're a highly sensitive youth?" laughed Lydia.

"Dunno" said Ross "By comparison to Freya I suppose!"

"OY!" said the head of Gryffindor House, poking her highly sensitive brother.

The metalworking OWL students were feverishly finishing their final pieces; and this was also four of the NEWT students who elected to take the extra OWL alongside their NEWTs just to get the chance to learn something of the skill. It involved Arjelan, Cholaka, Grigs and Mortimer; Mortimer hoped to get tuition from Lydia and Leo, who were taking the subject to NEWT next year and maybe Mortimer would subsequently be able to take it as an external student. One of his pieces used the principle of the coefficient of magical expansion and was an enlarging cauldron; for Mortimer despised the collapsible cauldron as tending to do so inconveniently; a portable cauldron that enlarged was far more practical. His other piece was based on the swooping curser, itself based on the golden snitch; save that it had a viewosneak in it to use for security work.

Naturally some of the younger members of the school who knew what he was making could think of a few more lawless applications for the device; but Mortimer said firmly that it was supposed to patrol within a set region aimlessly and randomly, thereby defeating intruders or vandals who could not find a pattern to its peregrinations. He had built it with the free school in mind; since he had, for a while, acted as caretaker there, because those who were either too scared or too pleased with their own ignorance to take up a place were inclined to throw stones. Hawke, his sponsor, was delighted with the idea when Mortimer had shared it with him, and promised to help him market it.

The idea of marketing it had never occurred to Mortimer; but the idea of having money in his own right, that he could use to pay back all the kindnesses of the Malfoy twins was very attractive! Not that Hawke and Abraxus wanted to be paid back; but Mortimer knew they would be proud of him if he passed favours on and sponsored other children!

Gorbrin's sword had worked perfectly.

It flew to the hand of any Malfoy or Tobak; and to nobody else.

It would expand or contract for the willing of it; and he and Jorbal were both delighted with the way the Arithmancy had enhanced it; as well as the blood magic in the quenching to tie it to his kin.

The blood magic worked better than Gorbrin had expected; in the hands of anyone else it sullenly refused to be anything but a three inch knife and contracted to that even if picked up in the full twenty three inch blade version. It had four sizes in the end; the full size and those of the intermediate prime numbers that summed to make twenty three, more ambitious than Gorbrin had intended, but with the Arithmancy, blood, and vanadium quite possible!

Everyone else had finished their second piece in time and Pearl had managed to rebuild her cauldron timer with the use of some prepared pieces that the exam board permitted to replace those certificated by Jorbal as her own work; and the goblin professor and his other students had all put in time to help. Even those who thought it a bit of a toy; for to Pearl it was a useful toy.

Pearl's second piece was an equally pedestrian clockwork robe folder; a useful piece of kit but not likely to set the world on fire.

Albert equalled his differencing engine in ingenuity with his second piece, a map of the Wizarding World stored on a metal globe that projected onto a piece of flat paper whichever part of the world desired in such detail as was required. It was not entirely complete as he only had really good detail of England and parts of Europe, though he had managed to extract some information about America from Wendy Manning and of India from Professor Khan. The Changs had declared a total lack of knowledge of China being English for generations. At a large scale at a certain castle in Scotland, the pupils of Hogwarts wandered across the map. Nobody doubted that THAT piece of kit was an 'O' grade!

Ming produced the only piece of potioneering kit Gorbrin thought more useful than Mortimer's shrinking cauldron; a morphing silver knife that became on command a pair of scales or a stirrer. It had been a tricky piece of enchantment and Gorbrin felt it undoubtedly an 'O' grade piece.

Jorbal agreed. The firework sorter and folder was complex and ingenious enough to be borderline 'O' grade, as much from the pleasing design of it as its uses; but this was delightful, subtle and more or less what he would have looked for from a NEWT student; like Gorbrin's sword.

And Jorbal was generous enough to tell the three boys he felt most accomplished so and to tell them that he felt their technical skill and imagination surpassed him.

Gorbrin caught flies. So did Albert.

Ming said "But sir, your knowledge surpasses any raw talent we have by so far; we hope to leave with a good NEWT and having absorbed a decent fraction of what you know, that we can develop."

"Exactly" Gorbrin found his voice "It – it's really flattering that you think we have good talent; and we shall build on that for the rest of our lives."

"He's destined to be an auror; building gadgets on the fly will be handy I should think!" said Ming "Me, I've toyed with that; but I wonder, sir, if I might consider teaching metalwork instead if you'll have me for an assistant for another year or so; then I can offer myself to Professor Snape. No I'll rephrase that."

"Steady on old boy!" said Gorbrin laughing "I know he has three wives but I think he baulks at boys!"

Ming poked him; Jorbal looked a little worried until he realised that they were just laughing and joined in with a chuckle.

"Well, Mr Chang, you and Mr Malfoy-Tobak and Mr MacMillan have also picked up the basics of theory very well; and I don't see why you should not be able to teach very adequately. I appreciate too your desire to spend an extra year learning even more; and if you'll put in the time I see no reason you should not become the most knowledgeable human there has, as yet, ever been; and I think if I just send you to talk to experts you'll easily become one of the most knowledgeable metalworkers in the world. And probably evolving new things too, especially if the three of you keep in touch."

Ming's eyes sparkled.

The idea of being part of something as totally new as Erica would be when she was teaching art as magic to the children of Prince Peak was the most exciting thing of all to him; Ming was a Chang, and Changs were as hungry for knowledge as any Snape!

The idea too that Prince Peak was to be a centre of excellence in the more esoteric arts like art, music, chanting and – he hoped – metalwork was exciting; and gave opportunities for original research. Ming too had every intention of suggesting to Severus that he open a post NEWT wing for the serious academics to pursue their own research, after the manner of Corbin's academy only more practical and with a lot more hard work and less gentility.

And charge through the nose for the privilege of going there too, of course!

Ming had romantic ambitions towards Erica too; they did most things together now, and she had let him kiss her as they walked out on the moors over the holidays even if she had cast the jellied furnunculus curse on him when it had moved further past chaste than Erica felt she wanted!

It was a gentle rebuke from a friend, after all; and above all, Erica was a friend. Ming had quickly cancelled the curse of course and kissed her hand with a flourish as an apology.

Erica was gorgeous enough that a fellow could get carried away.

As for Gorbrin and Meliandra, they had started out with every intention of staying thoroughly platonic in their relationship until their OWLs were over; which had rapidly gone out of the window when a minor quarrel over a point in arithmancy that led to a grass fight that had ended with Gorbrin rolling Meliandra in grass and both of them got rather mussed and ended in a rather breathtaking kiss that degenerated into a rather extensive grope.

They gave up on platonic after that but agreed to be continent in their relationship until after the exams were over.

So far they were managing to stick with it; but Jardak rolled his eyes rather that they rarely stopped holding hands regardless of who was watching.

Ming sympathised; and winked at Gorbrin when Jardak made animadversions about the futility of a fellow having anything to do with girls while Jazka glowered at him.

He would fall in due course.

And Ming grinned at the thought of Narcissa happily arranging a triple wedding for the six friends!

Pity it was probably against custom for a bridegroom to jinx the more obnoxious in-laws; though that WAS getting rather ahead of himself to think about!

One needed some frivolous thoughts to stay sane through OWLs.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The NEWTs were upon the students all too quickly.

The Arithmancy class was one of the largest ever; as large as any OWL class with ten students. That many of the brighter students in this year were from Lionel Dell's bloodgroup and that two others were Marauders might have had something to do with it; for the two blood groups recognised the importance of Arithmancy. Madam Vector hoped there might be a trend towards a more serious approach to her subject since Jade had made her famous Wizarding Wireless Vision comments about Arithmancy being the basis of all higher magics; but it still depended on some degree of brains as well as hard work. Hard work could take children a long way – in some ways Madam Vector was almost as proud of the Belle Marauders as solid 'E' students since not one, bar Mimi, actually enjoyed Arithmancy or found it easy, as she was of a natural arithmancer like Lilith – but was not a generally popular thing to engage in over a difficult and unpopular subject.

That more Hufflepuffs were taking to Arithmancy WAS a small victory; that the hard workers of the school could be shown that Hufflepuffs could achieve excellence in the subject. Both Moorcroft twins were taking Arithmancy to ally with their potioneering, their true strong subject. That was two Hufflepuffs, three Ravenclaws – besides Mei, Bernard Corbin and Lisa Field were taking the subject – three Gryffindors and two Slytherin. A good cross-house mix. A bit of a difference from the one-time norm of two or three Ravenclaws and maybe a Slytherin. Really, Madam Vector thought, she had Hermione Granger-Weasley and Krait Malfoy-Snape to thank for making it a subject to be attempted more readily by others; and though a Ravenclaw once herself, Septima Vector was not displeased to see the less edifying members of Ravenclaw House like Bernard Corbin taken down a peg or two to find himself lower in class than the part goblin Slytherin boy from the wrong end of the Umbrous Lane complex.

Mortimer Bane was as instinctive as any Snape; and a delight to teach.

Madam Vector wished ALL her students well; but privately she hoped Mortimer fulfilled his potential to get an 'O' and Bernard Corbin fulfilled his norm and got an 'E'.

Which result would be a victory for either of the Moorcroft twins at that.

The four hour exam was never going to be easy; unless you were someone who enjoyed Arithmancy. And this was Mortimer, Mei, Lisa Field, the two Tuthills and Godfrey Goodchild whose total ambition was to teach music in Professor Snape's school.

The paper consisted of a tricky little piece of calculus to define the apportation from one place to another; a calculation on the probability a tossed coin would come up heads thirteen times and the calculation of the number of syllables a chant should have to enchant the coin to do so. Mortimer worked it out and wrote dryly that the easier enchantment would be to make the coin change from tails to heads so that both sides were the same the moment it turned over in mid air that any charlatan in Obscura Alley could do.

Following this were the usual short questions on curse breaking calculations and marital success calculations; and the now traditional final equation with its ominous word 'explain'.

It seemed utterly obvious to Mortimer that the equation covered the spell _evanesco_ the vanishing spell; covering a move to the other reality to which rubbish was banished; and hardly worth working up a sweat over. He absently compared it to the basic equations for apportation and elf-style apportation which wandered into post NEWT speculation over the eleven mathematically possible universes that the marauders had discussed and adapted to Arithmancy from Muggle physics and mathematics.

He and Mei came out chuckling; and the Tuthills and Godfrey looking very happy.

Bernard Corbin looked dishevelled and unhappy.

"Hey Corbin, you look like the last equation's been reversed at you" said Lisa Field who did not like her house mate.

"It was some kind of apportation I believe" said Bernard pompously.

"Evanesco" said Mei "Obvious, I thought."

"A bit OWL level really" said Mortimer "I never expected the NEWT to be so EASY!"

If looks could have killed, Mortimer would have disappeared in a green flash.

"I thought it was a bit tough myself" said Arjelan "But I'm not as good as you oiks."

"It wasn't as awful as I was afraid it might be" said Shona Moorcroft; her brother nodded.

"Potions next; a fun one" he said.

Being largely disciples of Professor Snape he met with relatively little dissent over what might have been for some a contentious comment!

The potions practical was a twist on the practical that had been almost standard; instead of brewing the Draught of Living Death, the candidates were to brew its counter, the Wiggenweld Potion.

Everyone knew the story, of course, of how the hag Leticia Somnolens had placed the draught of living death on a spindle to make a king's daughter prick her finger on it out of jealousy; and how a young wizard smeared the Wiggenweld Potion on his lips to kiss her and bring her out of her trance.

It was a tough brew; they had studied the potion deeply in theory but the ingredients were expensive and hard to obtain; and not one usually practised in class. However, no other school was likely to have practised it either, so nobody else would be any better prepared. As half a unicorn horn was required for each brew, the cost of the brew went up by ten and a half galleons.

There was a note asking the entrants to be as vigilant as possible in their brewing since the potions would be used to revive a number of persons discovered to be under the draught of living death and so this exam was more meaningful even than normal.

The students set to with a will to do better than their best; to work towards a practical solution of a problem was a greater incentive than even the most important exams of their lives!

The written exam was moderately standard; questions on Felix Felicis; and also on the dangers of overdosing and excessive use as well as the dangers of taking an improperly prepared dose.

Mei Chang had a shrewd idea that the lectures and questions on Felix this year were in response to Severus trying to highlight the dangers of felix fiends in society.

There were also questions about amortentia and its antidotes; half a dozen coloured exemplars of Malfoy lines to identify by knowledge of the revellaspell; and the final question was a list of ingredients and the question 'What?'

The Moorcrofts were busy writing the properties of each ingredient; Shona could make potions up with ease and tell a potion from a Revellaspell but got thrown with lists.

Mei knew; and wrote that the potion of Wolfbane was, fortunately now quite obsolete with the new cure developed by Severus Snape the greatest potioneer that had ever lived.

It would irritate Horace Slughorn if he was marking the papers – as he probably was – to have it ground into his face that he missed making a protégé of the greatest potioneer that had ever lived.

Sometimes Mei could be a little vindictive for those she loved.

There were no big surprises in charms; a long essay on barrier charms and a selection of shorter questions on theory of various kinds of spells; and the practical called for a demonstration of mobility charms on a selection of objects to test the flexibility of the Latin of the candidates; and a small confundment.

Transfiguration was equally standard; human transfiguration, summoning spells, Gamp's law and theory of assimilative correlation for the written exam, none of the questions viciously long; and the usual practical in which Cholaka turned her fiddle into a Persian cat that looked remarkably like a lion; as did Grigs. Mei produced a violet-point Siamese, Freya a chinchilla, and Mortimer transfigured his violin into a very handsome Kneazle which wandered off to bite Bernard Corbin who was in the same group as Mort.

This had been the general idea of making a kneazle as the elder Corbin had fanned the flames of the hate campaign against Darryl Zabini, even if he had not actively participated; and though Mei had considered hauling him over the coals with the middle school, she thought it bad for discipline to do so to an upper sixth boy.

Mei was also in the same group and promptly made modification so a lilac point Kneazle also bit Corbin.

"History there?" asked Madam Marchbanks, laconically.

"I can't put an impot for bad behaviour on a boy of almost eighteen, as he was then, and make him wear 'pratt' in zits on his forehead like I did to the other nasty little hate campaigners" said Mei "My friend there had a great idea that I decided to copy. Kneazles KNOW; and then it's in the hands of as you might say a higher court."

"I see. Well a Kneazle is a valid cat" said Madam Marchbanks.

"And I'll be applying for a licence to take her home; and I expect Mort's will be a school cat at the free school" said Mei.

As everybody who was in the MSHG was doing DADA it was a large class; and wrote fluently and knowledgeably about the unforgivable curses, cursed wounds, and the bonus question on horcruxes, that Mei and Mortimer were able to write more about in terms of the development of the name through Lydia's researches. The practical was the standard duel and Mei and Mortimer decided not to bother to muck about after they had resisted the examiner's curses and just turned the examiner into stone, an interesting little spell the Mad Marauders had come across in the library and had studied as a handy thing to use if you wanted someone out of action and yet available for future questioning wherein you might store them for as long as you wanted. True the original spell had only worked on inanimate objects, but a small thing like that never stopped the Marauders and _Duro_ became _durocorpus_ though of course cast wordlessly.

After a dose of Mandragora the examiner had both back and asked,

"Why a spell to turn to stone?"

"We didn't have a basilisk available" said Mortimer with a straight face.

"A stone enemy can be stored until or unless you need to question him" said Mei. "And can then be restored. It also means if you make a mistake – if you're hitting an area of effect say, and an innocent party gets caught up in it, no real harm is done."

"And I suppose if you were feeling nice you could get a sculptor in to give them a nose job if they needed it" said Mortimer.

The examiner gave Mortimer a rather uncertain look.

"And, er, where did you find this spell?" he asked.

"Oh us and our friends in the lower sixth developed it from the one that turns inanimate objects to stone" said Mortimer "Piece of cake."

"Er, I see" said the examiner, glad that the rest of the candidates had stuck to more conventional methods like the full bodybind allied with _langlock_, the disarming charm and some form of individual embellishment ranging from _levicorpus_ to the arachnonunculus curse and almost everything in between.

Most people bound, unable to speak, without a wand and dealing with dangling upside-down from one ankle or with spider legs growing out of their faces or vomiting slugs were pretty much helpless.

This was Mortimer's last NEWT and he was fairly certain that he had done well at all of them. He was taking another two OWLs; but they were just to make him more rounded and should not be stressful.

Mei still had chanting and comparative magic; the second of which only Freya was taking with her.

The Chanting exam had a long paper involving the design of chants for the breaking of various curses, with credit given for choice of appropriate language included in it and arithmantic calculation.

The practical was to add a counterpoint to a basic chant to unravel a curse on a hat cursed to cause headaches and to be unremovable; and to design a chant to set up a zone to exclude snakes.

The acromantulas refused to co-operate after their unfortunate experiences of the year before.

Mei set up her exclusion zone by chanting in Parseltongue, to the consternation of Madam Trewkettle; and the snakes reached the line and swayed in dreamy contemplation.

Godfrey, who was a little less enamoured of snakes than the marauders, had his exclusion line turn them into twigs; the others were content just to set up an area of snake repelling.

The comparative magic was a long paper and the big essay question was on Voodoo.

Mei scribbled furiously, and then had leisure to deal with the shorter questions on various shapeshifters and their place in different societies, fey, and the different traditions of music in magic in different cultures.

Freya came away almost tearful because she had been unable to list all the loa for the long question and had remembered the two she had missed after leaving the exam room.

As Freya was as like to Hermione Granger as made no odds, Mei was tactful rather than outright sympathetic and left Freya to her own group of friends.

Mei had finished; Freya still had Ancient Runes and Geomancy, as did sundry others, Arjelan still had enchanting, and they to take place after what Ross called the tedious subjects of Herbology, History, Divination and astronomy. No-one was taking muggle studies to NEWT; those who were interested in muggles generally left NEWT level questions far behind them long since, though at least Leticia Jones was glad to note that the syllabus appeared to have been written at least by a muggle.

It had been written, and was examined by, Wendy Malfoy as it happened; and her surname was what had convinced the ministry of education to permit her to do so, since only about half of them actually realised that Wendy was a muggle, despite serving on the Grand Council as an elected representative of muggles.

As it happened both Wendy and Leticia agreed passionately with the concept promulgated by David Fraser that it did not matter if witches and wizards did not take exams so long as they took muggle studies in their first two years; and that the exams were then available for muggle siblings to see the things young wizarding folk needed to learn so that they might hopefully follow Leticia into teaching muggle studies as muggles in wizarding schools. Having a few muggles in the muggle relations office was also a radical step that Arthur Weasley supported wholeheartedly; assigned free elves as assistants to help them get around wizarding places.

In the same vein, Cholaka was planning on applying for a job in the goblin relations office, together with her boyfriend Grigs.

And in a few short weeks, the NEWT students would be out in the world to take up their careers!

And when the NEWTs were over the OWLs started.

Gorbrin was excited.

He did not have to do Potions or Transfigurations as he had done them a year early; so he had devoted time to coaching Albert MacMillan in his Potions. The boy was not a natural, but he had enough of a feel for the subject to bring him on quite well and Gorbrin privately thought that the boy might just surpass himself in his desire to show his parents what he really could do.

A shame that they were unlikely to really appreciate it; but his Uncle Herbert would.

Albert had only the slimmest of chances of passing either transfiguration or charms; so it was no point, Gorbrin said, doing anything but playing to his strengths and not worrying about the weaknesses. And the MSHG had given Albert some good defensive spells some of which, paradoxically, were more complex than those he muffed in charms.

Albert did not expect the potions practical to be as easy as the year before, analysing three poisons and brewing the antidotes, one of which had been identical to its half way stage to another; he was however delighted to find that it was the brewing of the Confusing and Befuddlement potion and a counter to it.

Potions was one class in which Albert never felt confused or befuddled so he set to with some aplomb and managed to finish well within time to start the antidote, picking the wit-sharpening potion as a likely counter and adding jobbernoll feathers as a memory aid.

As plenty of people seemed a sight more confused, bemused and fuddled than he, Albert decided not to take the pessimistic view that he had missed a point and just went ahead to enjoy himself, delighted that he had not had to brew the long and complex Draught of Peace.

And when he had finished and described it to Gorbrin, his friend thumped him on the back and said,

"Well done; the only thing that would have given you better marks would have been to have quoted Golapott's first law."

"I forgot his ruddy name" said Albert "I said that the antidote had to be at least as strong as the initial potion."

"Close enough to pick up an extra mark or two" said Gorbrin.

The written was largely on medical potions; several were described to the half way stage and the students had to write up the rest. There were questions on Golapott and on various antidotes and the labelling of a diagram of Chinese Chomping Cabbage. Albert thought he had done well.

Transfiguration was less happy for Albert; his theory was not bad and he made what would probably have been a pass grade attempt at the written exam. It was unfortunate that his switching spell in the practical broke both bottles, he managed to drop the dirt in a pail down the examiner's cleavage by making it fly up instead of vanishing it and his decorative box may have refused to eat dandelion leaves but that was only because it was more interested in chomping on the examiner's fingers as she held them.

It was at least over!

He genuinely wished well the youngest candidate in the exam, little Lilith Snape, who was not even ten years old; but somehow he doubted Lilith would have any trouble. Lilith quoted Emeric Switch and Adalbert Waffling and wrote a near NEWT level answer on assimilative correlation and her essay on switching spells was clear and concise.

She switched the contents of the bottles, not merely the bottles, vanished the dirt without word or wand, produced a purple silk handkerchief from her wand with lavender lace on it smelling delicately of lavender water – an effect entirely new to the examiner – and turned her tortoise into a Chinese puzzle box and showed the examiner how it worked, demonstrating how to hide the dandelion leaves, and then to reveal them uneaten and undigested.

Naturally she insisted on feeding her tortoise when she had restored him.

As charms was next, Albert felt that once the ignominy of that was out of the way he could probably buckle down to the rest of his exams without too much worry.

His understanding of locomotor charms was at best hazy; but he wrote a good answer on cheering charms, largely because he felt in need of one.

His rat swelled instead of going yellow; and the teacups just would not stop. Albert felt as out of control as usual with a wand in his hand. He managed to make an eggcup hiccup its way through a somersault, reduced the dinnerplate too quickly so it shattered and managed to pour the glass of water he was levitating all over the examiner. Gorbrin, he noticed, was performing with his usual skill and aplomb with neatly stacked cups no longer dancing, a rat shaded delicately from deep yellow at the head to a delicate primrose at the tail – Gorbrin was in one of those moods – and a wine cup controlled into a pour whilst levitated. Gorbrin did not trouble to use his wand on that, and poor Albert wondered if he might be better not to use his; it seemed to dislike him.

The DADA written exam was straightforward enough and Albert was not displeased with his answers defining dark creatures and describing a selection that were listed.

He knew that the likes of Gorbrin were writing more detail than him; but so far as Albert was concerned the uses of DADA were to aid him fight against nasty people when he was working in the auror's office as a finder.

He was quite looking forward to the practical; his boggart was his sister Camilla, whose spite and sneers used to reduce him to tears before he got in with such a good bunch of friends. Camilla was quickly subdued under the shout 'RIDIKULUS!' whereupon she was leaped upon by a randy goat and chased back into the box. Albert could not stop spells as fast as some of his friends; Gorbrin to his left was shielding before the examiner even finished pronouncing them, but his shield was solid. Gorbrin's boggart, as it happened, was still Samuel Block and Gorbrin's way of dealing with him was as Lucius had done in reality, having him turned into a ball and kicked down the stairs. Gorbrin also produced a corporeal patronus which – predictably – was a dragon.

Albert could not produce a patronus and hung his head.

"It needs a wand, sir" he said to the examiner "And I'm not much good at wand work; that's why I like DADA because you don't need a wand for most of it."

The examiner was becoming used to the idiosyncrasies of certain of the children at Hogwarts who did not seem to bother with a wand; but this was a little offbeat.

"Laddie, if you can deal with a boggart and curses without a wand, I'm amazed you have trouble with one" he said "I hate to accuse Ollivander of making a mistake, but if it was crowded when you bought your wand…."

"Oh I never had a new one" said Albert "Dad said, as I was a squib near enough I might as well have great grandad's as it wouldn't make much difference."

"I see" said the examiner, grimly. "Listen laddie; I'm going to ask the rest of the board if they'll let me do something unprecedented; and take you off to buy a new wand and let you resit the other practicals. And if you can produce any kind of patronus from it I'll credit that too."

Albert stared.

"So when I feel my wand hates me I might be right?"

"Certainly it may be that you are ill matched" said the examiner.

In consultation with Professor Dumbledore the examiners readily agreed to give it a try.

"Poor little boy" said Madam Marchbanks "WHAT were his parents thinking of?"

"Judging by his boggart, their darling daughters" said the DADA examiner dryly.

Albert and his new wand were sequestered to retry the two practical exams he had muffed so badly; and proceeded to perform if not creditably at least adequately and certainly not as disastrously as in the first attempt! He vanished most of his dirt, switched bottles a little clumsily, managed a piece of linen – rather grubby – and his box only had a head attached. In charms he actually stilled the cups, eventually; and if the rat was more tan than yellow it was better than nothing. His glass of water lifted, not very far, but without too much wobbling, and his eggcup had more control. Unfortunately he enlarged his dinner plate not reduced it; but it was at least a result!

And then he produced a wobbly and not very corporeal but definite something for his patronus.

It was meant to be a dragon in copy of Gorbrin's; and would need some work. But it ranked a few points.

"THANK you sir!" Albert's eyes glowed "Why, I never knew what it was to have a wand that actually worked WITH me!"

"You go ahead and do well in the rest of your exams and show some people up" said the examiner kindly.

Gorbrin was flabbergasted when Albert told him.

"Albert, I AM sorry!" he said "All these years and I never thought to ask if you had the right wand – well, it never occurred to me a chap's parents would be so MEAN! And they're not that badly off either! And if they were, they could have got you second hand school uniform instead because after all, most weevils look pretty second hand after a few weeks anyway!"

Albert grinned.

"Well the ones that do things like play hurley, anyway" he said. "Gorbrin, I can't begin to thank you for all the help you've given me; I never bothered to mention I hadn't been chosen by a wand because I assumed if my parents said it was all right, it was all right!"

"I really don't like your parents" said Gorbrin grimly.

"I'm beginning to be not that keen myself" said Albert "I'm going to go and live with uncle Herbert; he's a brick!"

"You write and tell him about this" said Gorbrin.

"I will" said Albert. "Gosh, it's fantastic; I can do ever so much more! I don't think I can be a squib after all!"

"You never were a squib you poor prune" said Gorbrin "Or you'd never have done anything even odd things with a wand. You're a late developer is all; and a damned hard worker too. And – and I wonder if you'd like to help us support the Marauders fighting evil that'll tie you closer to Mel and me when we're aurors?"

"You mean this blood magic stuff?"

"Yes" said Gorbrin. "You know about it?"

"Huh, I read Professor Snape's book; didn't understand it all but I thought the inferences were pretty clear" said Albert. "I'm in; people like him and Harry Potter and you need support. What do I do?"

"You wait for the summer hols when we have a big ceremony and I'll explain more after the exams" said Gorbrin "And I'll send you an invite to come in and then you can blood in and help out."

"All right!" said Albert, moved and flattered to be asked by quite the most wonderful boy in the year!

The last compulsory exam was care of magical beasts; and Gorbrin was taking care of Domestic Beasts with Erica, Meliandra, Stacey, Pearl and Hadrian and sundry others not in their set. Hadrian was taking both care of beasts exams; but that was Hadrian.

The written covered the diet for various types of flying horses and their most common ailments, and a question on how to handle hippogriffs. There were questions too on small domestic pets like crups and Kneazles and magical hounds and even nifflers.

Gorbrin resisted the urge to write that the only reason to raise crups was to feed them to hippogriffs and wrote instead that as crups drew attention to the wizarding world by behaving extremely badly in the presence of muggles, it was his opinion that they should be banned as pets save in special circumstances where the owner lived on an otherwise uninhabited island.

Erica, whose mother had been the target of a crup attack, was less scrupulous in her comments about the purpose of crups which she castigated as nasty dangerous little brutes less suited to be pets than Hagid's blast-ended Pekes and suggested that they all be sterilised and allowed to die out unless they were found to be suitable to the dietary requirements of some more useful animal.

Erica really did not care if that cost her a good mark; the exam was compulsory and not her choice. And she loathed crups.

Stacey added to the debate writing that if one got together all the crups in England and infested Germany with them to irritate Odessa they might fulfil some useful purpose. She had forgotten that Odesss had fallen! As Madam Grubbly-Planck was not herself fond of crups she had done little to curb the dislike of her students. Especially Erica, who Madam Grubbly-Planck liked since the girl had cured a unicorn with a broken leg by drawing it and changing her drawing to mend the leg; as unicorns hated to be approached and even Hagrid had been concerned lest the poor creature thrashed about and damaged itself more in panic.

Which occurrence, Madam Grubbly-Planck had written up and asked the examiners to take into account.

The practical was to feed a hippogriff, and to detach some valuables from a cage full of nifflers. The secret here was to have a second cage and tempt them with bright and shiny, but worthless, treasure; and then extract the stolen jewels when they were all in the second cage.

It was not hard.

The standard exam asked questions about various kinds of magical snake; and Albert managed to write about ashwinders and occapi; Hadrian added much more about runespoors and Basilisks. The practical involved sorting of knarls from hedgehogs, handling bowtruckles and de-doxifying a room. The MSHG had covered that useful spell _poxydoxytoxin_ and as Jade Snape had used it to such good effect on the triwizard there were no entrants who failed to use it.

And with a wand that liked him, even Albert managed an effective clearance!

That was the compulsory exams out of the way; and next the students would be working on their electives.

And Albert was taking nine OWLs over all in the expectation that he might get seven; for having never expected a chance with transfiguration or charms. And if he passed all of them he would be doing better than Camilla.

Which was both sweet, and a bit scary; because Camilla WOULD try to pay him back.

And if he was part of a big powerful bloodgroup she could jolly well TRY.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The practical for metalwork being essentially already done there was just a written paper and a brief test in front of the examiner, placing a self-sharpening charm on a partially completed knife and completing its tempering. Then they trooped in to write about general smithcrafting; and a long and tricky essay on the nature of springs and the various enchantments that might be used to alter their nature. Drawing the works of a simple musical box to scale was a piece of precision work where Meliandra and big Mischa both fell down; Albert loved this sort of thing, and Gorbrin too was happy with anything precise. Erica might have done better had she been less of an artist and more of a technician. Silvester pulled out the performance of his life to make the neatest working drawing he had ever managed.

A few more short questions on binding enchantments secured within the manufacture process covered the rest of the paper; and the candidates escaped thankfully.

Gorbrin, Hadrian, Darryl and assorted Ravenclaws including Ming and Pearl, were the only ones taking ancient runes; and Gorbrin was glad he had spent so much time on the Nordic runes and the N-rune in particular. He also enjoyed translating the passage in Oghams; the script being a speciality of Lucius. He wondered if Lucius had actually set the exam; particularly with the question "compare and contrast the subtle nuances of the Norse 'galdr' and the Anglo-Saxon 'galan' and their emphasis under the two cultures"; a question which had half the class moaning later was more suited to Comparative Magic.

As only Darryl was also taking comparative magic this was held to be slightly unfair; though Gorbrin argued – backed by Darryl – that the nuances implicit in the translation were sufficient to give an answer, that the Saxons placed more emphasis on a sung or spoken charm and the Norse on a written runic spell.

"It brings home how much overlap there is and how important it is to study runes, chanting, comparative magic AND Arithmancy if you want a cat's chance in hell of getting anywhere post NEWT" said Darryl seriously.

"You always were clever" said Gorbrin "It's why I so resented you hating me; I always thought you could be a good friend with plenty to debate."

Darryl looked pleased.

"Yeah, I 'm now regretting not doing Comparative" said Ming. "I'll nick your books in the hols if I may, Gorbers, and see if I can't catch up on my own to take it in the lower sixth."

"Not if you call me Gorbers" said Gorbrin.

Ming grinned.

"Sorry Mr Malfoy!" he said.

Gorbrin poked him.

Arithmancy had the usual softening up questions about which beau was the numerologically best for a witch and when their best time to get wed was based on their birthdates. The calculation of the maxima and minima of the number of wizards to open a given volume of wizarding space was a tricky little calculation but Gorbrin quite enjoyed it and added a further calculation assuming chanting was used in addition to the usual ritual. As the volume to be opened was a room sixty feet long, twenty feet wide and six feet high, a volume of seven hundred and twenty cubic feet Gorbrin pointed out laconically that this was also six factorial and so a lone wizard using a six line chant in iambic hexameter would do the job in exactly six minutes.

Ming picked up on the same relationship and when they compared notes later there was a quick high five.

Lilith had thought the relationship painfully obvious and had to be rescued from Munin Corbin for saying so; and took the opportunity of sticking out her tongue at him as Ming held onto the boy and informing him she bet he hadn't mentioned that the Mispar Kidmi variant of the Hebrew Gematria used factorial values for the Hebrew letters as she had written in the section on factorial numbers.

"No, brat, and nor did anyone else" said Ming "Beings as how that's out of the sphere of NEWT too and what on earth are you doing reading about the Gematria?"

"I found a book in the library" said Lilith. "I got interested. Because of Seth" she added obscurely.

"Oh, that makes sense then" said Ming "It being a Hebrew name. You don't study the Gematria until NEWT level Ancient Runes you know; because it's so complex it makes most people's hair bleed from the effort of unravelling it."

Lilith giggled and wished she had been sitting Ancient Runes too!

Chanting was what Gorbrin considered his weak subject; he doubted he would get an 'O' in it, which he was sorry about as his dad was so keen; and he felt it important himself. His theory was sound, but Gorbrin had never been musical and his sense of rhythm was never more than adequate.

Nevertheless he threw himself into it with enthusiasm; and the hour-long chant took place with all the candidates at once – there were only seven, including Mortimer Bane from the upper sixth – and Gorbrin was surprised and pleased that he was by no means the least able candidate. Lilith, Mortimer, Ming and Darryl were easily the best and Gorbrin used their sure chanting to lift his own game. And Lilith's sweet clear voice rose unfalteringly for the whole hour as a good anchor that raised the efforts of everyone who was taking the exam to be sure that no slugs would ever invade the circle that they defined.

And not perhaps such a silly thing to exclude in light of Kevin Slugworthy's psychedelic streelugs.

The written exam was easier – to Gorbrin's mind – asking first for a definition of chanting that must include how it differed from enchanting and charm casting. The list of curses to be removed and the list of poetry forms to match to them was an interesting and challenging test; and Gorbrin had to think quite hard, writing all down on scrap and drawing lines between them. The silly jinx had to match the limerick; and the lovelorn curse had to be matched by the ode. And then the rest gradually fell into place. Sometimes a warped imagination or black sense of humour was more use in matching appropriate chants than logic and Arithmancy; though of course Arithmancy was vital too.

And the final section was to write a brief chant in appropriate language with credit given for arithmantic calculation to a number of situations, from removing curses to setting up minor wards.

That was easy!

Lilith totally confused Lucius when he came to mark HER paper for having written one chant in Parseltongue using Herpo the Foul's notation; or rather, the expanded notation the Marauders used! Lucius had to ask Draco to translate for him, for though he knew the famous passage by Herpo, as any student of Ancient Runes worth his salt did, he knew he was no Parselmouth. But Draco, of course, was. Lucius was much impressed by the logical expansions on Herpo and kept a note of the whole chant to increase his own knowledge of at least written Parseltongue.

Gorbrin liked Comparative Magic and enjoyed Professor Khan's laid back and laconic style in teaching it, in which they absorbed an awful lot of knowledge from what seemed little more than chats in class and the odd essay. There was a long essay and several short questions; and this year there was a choice of three essays. Gorbrin chose 'discuss the impact of the fey on three different magical traditions' which meant he might write about the Norse Huldrafolk, the Indian Apsaras and the English Fey with reference briefly into other traditions. The other titles 'discuss the impact of shapeshifters on three different cultures' was also a nice question and 'pick three magical traditions and trace the importance of the spoken and written word within their spellcating pratices' was also interesting.

Having one of one's mothers being fey however, Gorbrin felt the question something of a gift especially as there was also a half apsara child in the school in the person of Mohini Malik.

The short questions covered everything from use of drums as a magical rhythm to Finnish naming magic and Gorbrin thought he had answered all of them fully. He grinned at Jardak as they came out; this was one of Jardak's favourite classes, and the boy hoped to teach it in the free school some day.

"Cor, piece o' cake" said Jardak "Like we haven't got a rakshasa or several and an ex werewolf for a good start and Bjorn back in Umbrous Alley as three exemplars!"

"You did that one? I picked the fey" said Gorbrin.

"I did the word and spell one" said Darryl "I felt it went nicely with that question in ancient runes."

"They were all nice questions; I wouldn't have minded having a go at all of them" said Gorbrin.

"Now that's TOO swotty, mate" said Jardak, casting the arachnonuncular curse at his friend. Gorbrin laughed and brushed it away with a gesture as though it was so many cobwebs.

One had to let off steam after all!

Enchanting had a fairly easy – Gorbrin thought – practical involving the enchanting of a quill and ink separately to perform some purpose. Gorbrin enchanted his pen to be unjinxable – considering the number of people who had tried to play tricks on him it seemed an excellent enchantment – and the ink to glow brightly on designated words to make key words stand out for easy revision.

The examiner was Fred – or George – Weasley, the normal examiner being down with dragon pox and the Weasley twins being indisputably good at enchantment.

"Crumbs, Malfoy, we'll enter into negotiations for you to sell the use of both of those to me later" said George – or Fred.

"Stick your fee into a good charity and feel free to use them both" said Gorbrin. "I'll not profit from things to help schoolkids."

"Well, tell you what, I'll put half the mark up into helping the free school as well as a designers' fee" said Fred – or George.

"Done" said Gorbrin.

The other test of the practical was to place a warming charm on slippers which was easy enough.

The written posed an essay on the importance of teaming the right enchantment with the correct materials; and Gorbrin wrote about certain quills taking some enchantments better than others, the necessity to have the right woods for a good broom and the possibility of making something barely acceptable a better matrix for an enchantment by changing its nature using chanting with Finnish name magic to rename it.

There were short questions on wand woods and cores, and the charms on brooms to make them more comfortable and on enchanted cauldrons to make them more useful. It is to be said that Gorbrin wrote rather snippily that such travesties were of no use to a true potioneer and were best used by the featherheaded sort of fool who would read Witch Weekly in a style that made both Fred and George roar with laughter and say.

"yup, he's a disciple of Professor Snape all right!"

Divination was being taken by Stacey and a selection of Hufflepuffs as a soft option and by Albert because he was good at it.

Albert took his practical by laying out all the tarot cards and using divining rods to explain to the examiner that whatever it was he had lost was underneath somewhere people had sex so probably under the bed.

As the examiner had been looking high and low for a ring that his grandfather had left him he was quite impressed.

Albert's theory was good too, and he interpreted signs accurately; it did not particularly interest him but as he had the skill with Dowsing, he needed a qualification to back the skill.

With Albert's ability, Sirius was talking about having dowsing skills moved in with Geomancy to be taken as a second practical for extra marks; but anything that came out of the negotiations would not materialise for several years. Madam Spikenard had pioneered the use of other means than crystal ball and tealeaves to predict the future in the exam; and would like to push that further to have a practical commensurate with the different skills lumped in with divination, like divining – in all its specialities – and other rare abilities like being able to tell information about someone by handling their possessions. Madam Spikenard's view was that unless and until it was recognised that some people were highly talented but only in a limited, narrow, and specialised field, Divination would continue to be a soft option study taken by children with no talent at all because since a seer could not perform to order, no fail could really be given for a lack of result on the practical. And that made a joke of it and moreover devalued the qualifications of those who WERE highly talented.

Albert and Ming were the two taking Geomancy; and were all alone in the class. This had meant that most of their lessons had involved wandering around Scotland and had taken in a number of teashops and cafes into the bargain where with a _muffliatus_ up they had covered theory over cream teas, doughnuts or whatever else had come their way. Padfoot was a good sort and quite happy to be informal so long as his pupils buckled down to produce homework.

Since the two he had were really keen, he had no problem over that!

It was perhaps indicative of small boys that their mental map of the ley lines of Scotland and northern England were defined by particular food types that were the specialities of the cafes Padfoot took them to.

Since Ming was taken to a place he defined as 'bacon butty with homemade mustard' and Albert to 'mint choc chip ice cream' they both got home in double quick time, resisting any urges to stop for a snack.

They wrote knowledgably about unplotability; drew a map of the principle ley lines of Britain; and answered questions on ley lines as a means of travel, portkeys and the floo network. Albert absently wrote about node shift transference which was a NEWT level answer because Sirius had been sidetracked over kippers on toast in Arbroath.

Ming wrote,

"It is by bacon butty I set my mind in motion; it is by the juice of coca-cola that the thoughts acquire speed; the thoughts acquire speed, the lips acquire stains; it is by bacon butty I set my mind in motion."

The examiner had not a clue what he meant; but did not mark him down as it sounded like a very obscure and arcane mantra that was beyond his own knowledge.

Gorbrin was taking Herbology as an aid to potioneering and Stacey was taking it because her mother thought that gardening was a nice genteel occupation.

Gorbrin confunded his fanged geranium before it had a chance to bite him - a spell out of his supposed age ability – and Stacey got bitten twice. Her comments on 'genteel occupations' made the examiner blench.

Collecting bubotuber pus and pruning shrivelfig presented no difficulty nor picking out the devil's snare from amongst flitterbloom in a viva voce.

The written exam concentrated heavily on manures and mulches and the correct times to prune various plants and whether they required light or heavy pruning. It was important and Gorbrin concentrated on it quite hard. He had no real desire to pursue the subject; he knew enough about repotting mandrake, the only NEWT level skill he was likely to need and preferred to leave it to others. He knew enough to know if a supplier knew enough!

It was Gorbrin's last exam; and he heaved a sigh of relief!

Several of his set were taking history and a couple took muggle studies; but he was well over the lot!

And as soon as the rest were done, Ming and Albert took them by ley line to celebrate in one of their favourite cafes where they ate sausage and mash with baked beans followed by ice-cream sundaes.

"Crumbs Ming, looks like there is something to this geomancy lark after all!" laughed Gorbrin.

And then it was the end of term and cup presentations; and Slytherin just managed to pick up the quidditch shield and Gryffindor and Slytherin shared the House Shield; with Ravenclaw only boosted to a half decent fourth place because Dumbledore awarded points to is house head in the person of Mei Chang for doing her best to scotch unpleasantness and in squashing thoroughly the miscreants once their unfounded malice was proven.

The Marauders' shield was awarded next.

"And this prestigious little prize goes to the not-marauders of the upper fifth; Gorbrin, Erica, Jardak, Jaska, Ming, Meliandra and Darryl and, so I believe, Albert; who have gone out of their way to help others of their year as well as younger ones with vicissitudes – and I don't just mean Pearl's smashed work – across all house boundaries. It's been an odd sort of year but the calm good sense of those I understand are pledged to aid and support the more serious ideals of the marauders without themselves having the er, dubious prestige of marauding has been a vitally calming influence through times of some trauma."

Gorbrin and the others went up to collect the shield.

"I say, do I count yet?" whispered Albert.

"If you don't old boy you'll have a rotten mark for your Arithmancy" drawled Darryl.

Albert poked him.

"You count for being such a staunch aid through the Amos Leroy crap" said Gorbrin. "You stood by what was right."

Albert was mollified; as he had not blooded he wondered if he was permitted!

He had heard all about Seth and was determined to do his best to help the child; the more because his own parents had let him down. Albert had had a long chat with Seth – the bloodgroup had let him in on the fidelius charm on Myrtle's loo – and had managed to show the lad that other people have bad parents too. Albert also persuaded Darryl to talk about his mother; and Seth asked Darryl wistfully if he would be a big brother to him and his sisters.

"Sure I will kid" said Darryl "I got taught crap about muggleborn; if I can be your big brother that might cancel that out."

And then they were off for the holidays; and on a noisy, happy train journey home with nobody jinxed; for without Darryl Zabini's cleverness to spur him on Wilfrid Crabbe was a poor enough creature who would not initiate any trouble out of sheer terror of the various levels of marauders.

And Michelle Makepeace was lying low too since she had made such a fool of herself urging her own hate campaign against Zabini onto the Ravenclaws.

"All summer long to plan pranks in!" said Lilith happily "And not the most despised in the school any more; we'll be warts!"

"Yeah, with 'Chrysogon Rufus is feeding the gnomes'" said Maud.

"Oh we'll give him every chance" said Lilith "And if he's as snotty as Amos Leroy THEN we jinx him into a ball."

That was voted fair enough!

Bella was already missing her Stripes as she went further away from the castle; but she knew she must be patient. And he loved her; and he loved her for HER not wanted her for any sick, warped reason. And she would grow up a normal woman without compulsion or sickness of the mind; and be a normal sort of wife and rear lots of cubs.

Bella purred suddenly at that thought.

Mimi spent the journey home on Darryl's lap and Meliandra and Gorbrin put a repelling charm on their compartment door and spent the journey in mussing each other thoroughly.

And as everyone thought that the year's drama was over because then they were in London and various parents there to pick them up, as Darryl emerged from the train with Mimi by the hand the flash of green light came from the wand of the tall handsome young black man waiting there.

Darryl gave a brief cry more of shock than pain as the blood group dispersed the killing curse and the zig-zag scar burned bloodily on his head and on Mimi's; and on all the not-marauders and younger ones.

Gorbrin recalled that he was to be an auror and leaped at the caster of the killing curse; he would NOT let another one get away with it, he would NOT freeze in fear!

And Blaise Zabini was hoisted in the air by one ankle, disarmed, bound, langlocked, tickled and had bats pouring out of his nose.

"Lumme, Gorbers old boy, nice combination!" said Lydia "Hardly need the rest of us!"

Gorbrin stared.

"Did I do all that?" he said.

"Apparently" drawled Mortimer. "A bit more dramatic than our solution of turning everyone we don't like to stone, but I don't say he doesn't deserve it."

Darryl flexed his fingers and drew on the power of the group and did a half transfiguration on his brother to make him partly feline.

"I suppose there's a reason to that?" asked Lydia.

"Oedipussy" said Gorbrin "Right?"

"Spot on – my brother" said Darryl draping an arm around Gorbrin's shoulders.

They left the older Zabini there while he was reported to the auror's office; a fine July evening on the first night of the holidays was not to be wasted on murderous half brothers. And Darryl went back to Orme Court realising that this felt more a home than anywhere he had lived with his mother.

**Finis **

_I'll try to get 12a up soon_**  
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